Summit County Director of Public Health Amy Wineland received the Breckenridge Community Leadership Award during a Breckenridge Town Council meeting Tuesday, Dec. 13. Wineland was recognized for her work during the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic 

“Amy really stepped up and took the lead and I think really led our county really to a much better place than most other counties not only in Colorado but in the country,” said Breckenridge Mayor Eric Mamula. 

Mamula praised Wineland for her regular updates to council as the pandemic developed and highlighted her team’s ability to make vaccines abundantly available to residents by targeting large areas like bus parking lots for inoculation sites. 

“I am just overwhelmed with gratitude,” Wineland said after accepting the award. “It represents countless hours of dedication by our term during the pandemic and it means so much that the work we are passionate about resonates with others.”

Wineland said the aid of 500 volunteers lead Summit County to having one of the highest vaccination rates in the state. Wineland also credited the efforts that went into delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the public far sooner than expected.

“Experts initially thought it would take at least 18 months to have a vaccine for COVID,” Wineland said. “But the science community came together and did it in just 354 days. That is crazy.”

Reflecting on the past two years, Wineland said there are “many lessons we can take away” from the pandemic. Most meaningful, she said, is that “we truly are stronger together.”