2023 Deal of the Year and Freda Johnson award nominations are open

Readers:

For the 22nd year, The Bond Buyer editorial board will identify and recognize the year’s most outstanding municipal finance transactions. As always, we will be looking for deals that exemplify the creativity and resourcefulness this industry brings to bear on projects that advance the infrastructure and quality of life in the nation’s municipalities.

After expanding the program three years ago to better represent the full diversity of the communities and public purposes this market comprises, the slate of honored deals stands at 10, giving opportunity for deals of any size, complexity or structure.

The Deal of the Year awards will feature five regional awards for each of our five coverage areas (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, Far West). We will also award honorees in each of the following five categories:

• Small Issuer (for municipalities with less than $70 million of revenue in their last fiscal year)
• Healthcare
• Public-Private Partnership
• ESG/Green (must be independently verified)
• Innovative

Application forms for this year’s Deal of the Year awards can be accessed at this link. The nominations deadline is Friday, Oct. 20. The 10 winners will be announced in the fall and will all contend for the overall 2023 Deal of the Year Award, which will be unveiled at a ceremony in New York City on Dec. 5.

Please note the eligibility requirements below and let us know if you have any questions. Good luck!

Eligibility
Deals that close between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023, are eligible for this year’s judging.

Attach to your application some photos of the project and a nominating statement of one page or less that explains the following:

• In what category is the deal being nominated (note on the nominating statement if you think it should be considered in multiple categories)
• The basic structure of the deal, the use of proceeds / purpose of the transaction
• Why the deal was done
• Why the deal deserves recognition

In your one-page nominating statement, please also explain which, if any, of the following common characteristics of Deal of the Year award-winning financings this submission embodies:

• Deals for new issuers, credits created to meet a specific or ongoing financing need, or issuers that have been substantially transformed so that they appear new to investors and function as a new credit from a portfolio manager’s perspective.
• “Turnaround stories” from issuers that were either long absent from the market or unable to gain market access.
• Deals that establish new types of security, harness previously untapped revenue sources, or open a new sector to financing.
• Deals that create a new type of financing for a traditional area of government, bringing new resources to an area where other options were unavailable because of revenue or political obstacles.
• Refundings or restructurings that either achieved an otherwise unattainable savings or indenture change goal for the issuer or use derivatives or other financial tools to reduce risk and/or total debt-service cost.
• Deals that set a record in terms of its total dollar size or number of participating issuers, or attract significant interest from non-traditional investors in municipal finance.

Freda Johnson Awards
Additionally, for the 13th year, the Deal of the Year ceremony will include the presentation of the Freda Johnson Awards for the public and private sectors.

The awards recognize women serving or who has served in a position in public finance who exemplifies the qualities of a trailblazer, leader, innovator, and mentor.

In addition to the Freda Johnson Awards, NEWPF will also recognize several Trailblazers for their outstanding commitment to the industry as a whole and the role of women within it. The Trailblazers will also be recognized at the Deal of the Year event.

Nominate individuals for the Freda Johnson and Trailblazing Women awards here. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Sept. 29.