The National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) recognized Utah State Treasurer David Damschen during its virtual annual meeting with the Harlan Boyles/Edward T. Alter Distinguished Service Award. The award is presented to “a dedicated and committed public servant whose outstanding career in government has provided a respected voice for NAST at all levels of government.”
Treasurer Damschen served as the 2019 president of NAST, a bipartisan association comprised of state treasurers and state finance officials with comparable responsibilities. During his tenure as president, he championed efforts to improve financial education in public schools throughout the country, reinstate advance refunding of tax-exempt municipal bonds, enable states to help return an estimated $26 billion in matured, unredeemed U.S. Treasury savings bonds to rightful owners, improve citizen access to ABLE benefits and 529 educational savings programs and more. Treasurer Damschen has served in numerous other capacities for the organization, including his current role on the executive committee and his previous service as senior vice president and legislative committee chair.
“It is a special honor to accept this award, which is named after one of my distinguished predecessors and dear friends, Edward Alter,” Treasurer Damschen said. “I am proud to serve in NAST leadership and work to address important issues that unite us as state treasurers, including innovative approaches to public infrastructure finance, strengthening public pension systems, improving banking regulations, helping our citizens achieve financial security, reuniting unclaimed properties with rightful owners and so much more.”
The Harlan Boyles/Edward T. Alter Distinguished Service Award is named after Harlan Boyles, the state treasurer in North Carolina from 1977 to 2001, who was known as the “Keeper of the Public Purse,” and Edward T. Alter, the state treasurer in Utah from 1981 to 2009, who served with distinction in five state-wide administrations. To learn more about NAST and the Harlan Boyles/Edward T. Alter Distinguished Service Award, visit nast.org.
