By DAWNE LEIKER

dleiker@dailynews.net

A Hays couple's personal mission to reduce violence against women was recognized and honored at the 14th Annual Crime Victim's Rights Conference on April 28 in Wichita.

Curt and Christie Brungardt, both professors of leadership studies at Fort Hays State University, were presented with the State Champions for Victims award for their efforts in developing policies and increasing awareness to reduce violence against women.

"Curt and Christie have worked tirelessly to prevent domestic violence across the state and around the country," said Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who presented the award.

The Crime Victim's Rights Conference is devoted to issues of domestic violence, stalking, violence against children and human trafficking.

The State Champion award, new to the conference this year, was created with the Brungardts in mind, said Curt Brungardt.

"They created a new category for us, since the community champion award just wasn't appropriate for us, because all our work is statewide, and has a statewide impact," he said. "It was very nice to be recognized among all those people who work in that area ... county attorneys, police chiefs, advocates, program directors."

The Brungardts have immersed themselves in efforts to reduce violence against women since the 2008 murder of their daughter, Jana Mackey, by her former boyfriend.

Last year they actively lobbied for passage of the domestic violence tag law, which requires that courts evaluate individuals with a history of domestic violence incidents in the state's criminal justice system, tagging those individuals' files and improving tracking efforts.

The tag law, also known as Jana's law, will take effect July 1, and the Brungardts have been gratified to hear members of law enforcement speak of specific applications of the law and how it will improve the process of coordinating efforts in domestic violence cases.

Attending a conference session on the tag law, Christie Brungardt said she was able to fully appreciate the effect of the law.

"To hear two trainers from the law enforcement training center talk about specifics of the bill and applying it to their field, and what a great thing it is," she said. "It takes away all the gray areas. The practical application was very helpful for me in realizing the true worth of that legislation."

The Brungardts serve as co-chairs on the attorney general's Batterer Intervention Board and serve as speakers to organizations and universities throughout the nation. In addition, they have created the charitable organization Jana's Campaign, a collaborative effort to reduce violence against women, and 1,100 Torches, a campaign to recruit community volunteers. They are also working to improve response to sexual assault on the FHSU campus, and launched the Women's Leadership Project on the FHSU campus in September.