Lake Apopka Natural Gas District honored with national innovation award

The Lake Apopka Natural Gas District was recently honored with a special national innovation award. 

AT&T and Government Technology Magazine honored LANGD as a national award winner in the 2021 Special Districts Awards Program.

The program is designed to recognize innovation and leadership within special district agencies across the country.

An evaluation committee reviewed nominations in three categories including citizens, operations and leadership in technology innovation before selecting award recipients. 

The winners were announced at the annual Special Districts Year-in-Review and Recognition Summit on Nov. 3.

The district was honored for its new customer assistance fund, LANGD’s Helping Hand, in the citizen's category which “recognizes special districts that have utilized technology to improve service delivery to citizens including, but not limited to, making physical services available online, deploying new citizen engagement solutions or enhancing user experience," according to the magazine.

“LANGD’s Helping Hand is truly an incredible initiative that represents our team’s unwavering commitment to give back to our customers,” said District General Manager and CEO Samuel Davis Jr. “I’m so proud of our team for coming together to create something so special, and I’m incredibly grateful their hard work is being recognized in such a big way.”  

LANGD’s Helping Hand was initially born during the COVID-19 pandemic. The district said it noticed an uptick in residential customers who were struggling financially from COVID-related furloughs and layoffs.

As a result, a small group of employees set out with a mission to find the best way to assist customers in need. 

After searching for a solution, LANGD said it launched a formal partnership with Heart of Florida United Way to create Helping Hand – the district’s first-ever customer assistance fund. 

Now, LANGD customers with a past due account who meet a specific set of criteria can apply for financial assistance through an online portal on HFUW’s website.  

If you, or someone you know, is a LANGD residential customer with a past due account and may qualify for financial assistance with their gas utility bills, contact LANGD’s Customer Service Department at (407) 656-2734 to learn more about LANGD’s Helping Hand.

If you are interested in donating to the fund, contact Deborah Johnson at (407) 656-0200 or donate online on HFUW’s website.