(Price), UT — Dave Cunningham, RN, MSN, Health Officer for Southeastern Utah District Health Department (SEUDHD) received the Utah Public Health Association’s 2011 Theodore Beatty Award, Utah’s most prestigious award for public health service, for “distinguished” service to public health.
Linda Bogdanow, 2010 award recipient presented Dave with the award on April 6 at the Utah Public Health Association’s annual conference.
Dave has worked in public health in Utah for the past 18 years. He was hired as the Nursing Director in March 1993, and became the Health Officer in June 1995.
Dave works hard to ensure every citizen in the four-county area has access to public health services. He goes above and beyond the requirements of his job on an ongoing basis. He truly engages himself in the community by serving on various boards, councils, committees and project planning teams. He listens to the community when they voice their concerns and follows through with appropriate action to make sure problems are addressed professionally.
Dave is the kind of health officer that doesn’t ask staff members to do anything he wouldn’t be willing to do himself. He continuously works in the trenches whether it is completing various trainings, or personally giving shots during the H1N1 event.
Dave has been a cowboy, a true cowboy, not the Hollywood type, all his life. He has a passion for horses not seen in most, and he enjoys teaching others about horsemanship. Currently he is teaching and sharing that passion with his grandchildren. He currently resides in Price with his wife Lanore. They have 5 children and 8 grandchildren.