In a glittering evening that brought together the nation’s homeland security community, the 2025 Homeland Security Today’s Holiday Hero Awards celebrated an unprecedented year of achievement and dedication. With over 200 nominations submitted during a two-month period – a record-breaking number – the awards highlighted the often-unseen heroes working around the clock to keep America safe.
A Growing Tradition of Recognition
Since 2011, the Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) has served the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies with an unwavering mission: protecting our citizens, assets, and way of life. Homeland Security Today’s Holiday Hero Awards, under the umbrella of GTSC, stand as the only national program devoted exclusively to recognizing heroes across the many disciplines within homeland security.
“Since our inception, we have worked to recognize and honor the people who silently work so hard to make sure we can live our lives without thinking about security. With recent mass shootings and other horrific events, the nation is no longer taking this for granted. We are proud to ‘see’ and are proud to pay tribute to them,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO & Founder of GTSC and Executive Editor of Homeland Security Today.
This year’s celebration, themed “Walking in a Winter Wonderland,” was particularly significant. In 2025, Homeland Security Today added Pracademic Affairs to its family of publications, added new verticals on Terrorism Prevention and Drones, launched COUNTERTERRORISM, a global collaboration to share information and develop strategies to combat terrorism, and added expertise to their Editorial board from the FBI, DHS Counterterrorism, Prevention, and Preparedness.
The 2025 awards expanded to include several new categories, bringing the total number of awards to an astounding 57. The additions reflected the evolving challenges and innovations in the field, including new categories for Excellence in Counterterrorism, Information Sharing, Training, Prevention, and Combatting Exploitation; and Most Valuable Player in IT Modernization, Data Advancement, and Data Optimization. The complete list of 2025 winners can be found at hstoday.us.
A Lifetime of Service Honored
The evening’s pinnacle moment came with the presentation of the Homeland Security Lifetime Achievement Award to The Honorable Benjamine “Carry” Huffman, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC).
With more than 40 years of dedication to the nation’s safety, Huffman’s acceptance speech resonated with fellow awardees and their supporters. “I want to honor you for being here and the work you do behind the scenes,” he said. “Once you see the hard work and dedication it takes, it’s truly a pleasure to see those who are often overlooked being honored here tonight.”
His words captured the essence of the evening: A celebration of individuals whose tireless efforts often go unrecognized but remain essential to our nation’s security.
Recognizing the Full Spectrum of Service
The National Holiday Hero Awards cast a wide net, recognizing excellence across the homeland security community’s diverse landscape from across the nation. From individual citizens to mayors, from first responders to technology innovators, the nomination process revealed incredibly dedicated people working diligently to ensure public safety.
These honorees represent every facet of the homeland security mission: those securing critical infrastructure, those responding to emergencies, those developing cutting-edge technologies, those training the next generation of protectors, and those working behind the scenes in roles that may never make headlines but remain vital to national security.
A Mission That Never Sleeps
The work of homeland security is, by its nature, stressful, never-ending, and relentless. Threats evolve, technologies advance, and challenges emerge without pause. Yet the 2025 Holiday Hero Awards demonstrated that Homeland Security Today and GTSC stand ready to support both industry and government partners in their shared mission.
GTSC brings together innovative, agile small and midsized company CEOs who create, develop, and implement solutions for the federal homeland and national security sector. These leaders work collaboratively with federal partners, bringing the innovation, creativity, and exceptionalism of successful small businesses to address mission-critical challenges, even in the face of significant budget constraints.
Olivia Trivisani Bowker, Founder and CEO of Amivero – the platinum sponsor of the 2025 Awards – emphasized the critical role GTSC plays in the homeland security ecosystem. “We wouldn’t have a bridge between private and public sector without GTSC,” she noted, underscoring how the coalition facilitates collaboration essential to the nation’s security.
Homeland Security Today is the premier news and information resource for the homeland security community, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context dedicated to elevating the discussions and insights that can support a safe and secure nation.
Looking Forward
As Homeland Security Today continues its role as the source of news and analysis for the homeland security community, events like the Holiday Hero Awards serve a crucial purpose: they shine a light on those who might otherwise remain unknown, they build connections across the public-private divide, and they remind us all that our safety depends on countless individuals working in concert.
For details on the individual National Award winners, click here and, for information on the Mission Awardees, click here.
Thanks to GTSC leaders and members, government attendees, awards supporters, and guests, the 2025 Holiday Hero Awards introduced the community to heroes whose dedication ensures that our nation remains secure and our way of life continues uninterrupted. In a winter wonderland of recognition and gratitude, these protectors received the acknowledgment they so richly deserve.
Stay tuned for the year ahead, make sure you’re a member of GTSC, following Homeland Security Today and subscribed to our newsletters!