The Pennsylvania Municipal League (PML) is pleased to present an award for distinguished service to PML President and Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski.  The presentation will take place at the organization’s 115th Annual Convention in Philadelphia, during the Welcome Breakfast on Wednesday, June 18, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

“I am extremely honored to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the League. I have a sign above my office door that reads, ‘Never, Never, Never Give up!’ I try to take that message with me every day,” said Pawlowski. “There is much we can accomplish when we work together.”

The League board of directors presents the Distinguished Service Award annually to an outstanding and devoted individual. This year the PML board officers and members are recognizing Pawlowski for his exemplary years of service to the City of Allentown, as well as his leadership to the PML as a board officer and as its president this past year.

“Mayor Ed Pawlowski has furthered the cause of municipalities in his tenure as mayor of Allentown and as president of PML,” said Executive Director Richard J. Schuettler. “The Allentown renaissance will leave a legacy to be emulated across the Commonwealth.”

During Pawlowski’s tenure as mayor of Allentown, more than a billion dollars in new development projects have been proposed in every section of the city. He has worked to bring in over 100 million dollars in state and federal grants to rebuild city parks, develop new businesses in the downtown, and improve the quality of life in Allentown neighborhoods.

Pawlowski has streamlined operations in City Hall and increased services to the community. He has rebuilt the city’s police force from its historic lows in 2005, and over the past several years has seen crime decrease by over 26% and violent crime decline by over 19%.

As a PML board member and as president, he has overseen the administration of PML’s wide array of municipal services including legislative advocacy (on both the state and federal level), publications designed to educate and inform, inquiry and research, education and training certification programs, consulting-based programs, and group insurance trusts. Most notably, he has helped champion the real need for municipal pension and Act 111 reforms.

The PML convention (June 17-20) will host elected and appointed municipal officials from across the Commonwealth. The convention agenda offers a variety of accredited sessions under PML’s Elected Officials Leadership Training Program, the Local Government Risk Management Certificate and the Association for Pennsylvania Municipal Management's Professional Development Program.