The Governor’s Challenge Awards will be held October 22, 2026, in Macon.
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is celebrating the 27th anniversary of the Governor’s Challenge Awards in 2026. The Governor’s Challenge Awards is the state’s premiere law enforcement awards ceremony recognizing state, local, campus and military law enforcement units for the outstanding work they do in promoting highway safety through education and enforcement.
Application Deadline: May 22, 2026, at 11:59PM
Governor’s Challenge is designed to highlight outstanding achievements in highway safety enforcement and education. It recognizes agencies for the approach and effectiveness of their overall highway safety programs. Agencies are evaluated not just for enforcement initiatives, but for innovative problem-solving in their communities, using public information activities and creating departmental policies that support their traffic enforcement campaign efforts.
The Georgia Governor’s Challenge is aligned with the national traffic safety priorities of impaired driving, occupant protection, and speed. Agencies are also encouraged to include information about any local issue you are addressing, such as distracted driving, pedestrian crashes, young drivers, etc.
The GOHS Law Enforcement Services team is ready to assist any agency with any questions about their application and have a How-To-Guide to help agencies craft a winning application.
(Click Photo to Access How-To Guide)
Current Governor’s Challenge award categories are as follows:
CHALLENGE SCORING CATEGORIES
An agency may earn up to 205 points across seven (7) specific areas:
• Policy (25 points)
• Training (25 points)
• Incentives & Recognition (20 points)
• Public Information & Education (40 points)
• Enforcement (40 points)
• Effectiveness (40 points)
• Quality of Application (15 point)
2025 Governor’s Challenge Winners
| AWARD CATEGORY | PLACE |
| Category 1: 1-10 Officers | |
| Alto Police Department | 1st Place |
| McCaysville Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Demorest Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 2: 11-25 Officers | |
| Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office | 1st Place |
| Forsyth Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Cleveland Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 3: 26-45 Officers | |
| Calhoun Police Department | 1st Place |
| Morrow Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Milledgeville Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 4: 46-75 Officers | |
| Dalton Police Department | 1st Place |
| Snellville Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Habersham County Sheriff’s Office | 3rd Place |
| Category 5: 76-100 | |
| Rome Police Department | 1st Place |
| Floyd County Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Liberty County Sheriff’s Office | 3rd Place |
| Category 6: 101-200 | |
| Gainesville Police Department | 1st Place |
| Newton County Sheriff’s Office | 2nd Place |
| Warner Robins Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 7: 201-500 | |
| Coweta County Sheriff’s Office | 1st Place |
| Hall County Sheriff’s Office | 2nd Place |
| Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office | 3rd Place |
| Category 8: 501+ | |
| Dekalb County Police Department | 1st Place |
| Atlanta Police Department | 2nd Place |
| Cobb County Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 9 (Colleges & Universities) | |
| Georgia State University Police Department | 1st Place |
| University of West Georgia Police Department | 2nd Place |
| University of North Georgia Police Department | 3rd Place |
| Category 11: Traffic Enforcement Network | |
| Southeast Traffic Enforcement Network | 1st Place |
| Metro Atlanta Traffic Enforcement Network | 2nd Place |
| Coastal Area Traffic Enforcement Network | 3rd Place |
| Coordinator of the Year | Cpl. Patrick Gilbert |
| Asst Coordinator of Year | Lt. Kimberly Barnett |
| HEAT Team of the Year | |
| Habersham County Sheriff’s Office | 1st Place |
| Hall County Sheriff’s Office | 2nd Place |
| Coweta County Sheriff’s Office | 3rd Place |
| SPECIAL CATEGORY AWARDS | |
| Bibb County Sheriff’s Office | Impaired Driving |
| Calhoun Police Department | Speed Awareness |
| Coweta County Sheriff’s Office | Occupant Protection |
| Snellville Police Department | Distracted Driving |
| Forsyth Police Department | Rookie of the Year |
| Rome Police Department | Child Passenger Safety |
| Douglas Police Department | Bike/Pedestrian Safety |
| Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office | Teen/Young Driver Safety |
| Hall County Sheriff’s Office | Motorcycle Safety |
| Twiggs County Sherrif’s Office (229.5 Points) | Governor’s Cup |
RESOURCES
GOHS Law Enforcement Contact List
(For more information, contact Roger Hayes at 404-971-0379.)