Ardurra's Kirk Holmes has received the Roy W. Morse Award, the APWA Washington Chapter's most prestigious honor. The award recognizes outstanding technical and professional accomplishments in public works. It was presented at last week’s APWA-Washington Fall Conference, following Kirk's selection earlier this year as one of APWA's national Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year.
Kirk has spent more than 40 years in public works and emergency management. Before consulting, he served as Public Works Director for Chester, Montana; Snoqualmie; and Kittitas County. In Kittitas County, he led the outreach that created the county's first voter-approved Flood Control Zone District. He has served in 19 presidential and locally declared disasters. More recently, he led debris management planning after the December 2025 atmospheric river floods.
Kirk chairs Washington's State Emergency Management Council, which advises the Governor. He is the first public works professional in that role. Debbie Sullivan, retired Deputy City Manager for the City of Olympia, highlighted that work when she presented the award:
"Kirk, thank you for leaning in hard so public works has a stronger voice at the table. It matters a lot."
Debbie also spoke about what she called his greatest legacy: mentorship. She credits Kirk with helping prepare her to become Olympia's first female assistant city manager. "I know I'm not the only one," she said. "You have done this for countless people."
Kirk has been an APWA member since 1998 and is a past Washington Chapter President. He continues to develop new leaders as the lead instructor at the Northwest Public Works Institute.