The JAX Innovation awards just took place. The Spring team has been a recipient of the award in a few cases over the years (and a nominee in even more cases), but this year was exceptional.

This year, the jury awarded Spring co-founder and lead engineer Juergen Hoeller (or Jürgen Höller, in his native (Austrian) German language) the Special Jury Award.

We don't normally talk about individuals on this blog, but few can be said to have done so much towards making Spring - and all that has come as a result of it - so successful as Juergen Hoeller has, and does.

The JAX Innovation Awards announcement says it best:

Today, as part of the Special Jury Award, we recognize the leader and coordinator of the Spring Framework. There’s probably no other person in the Java community that shaped and maintained such a large code base over so many years.

People familiar with the Spring Framework have regularly noted Spring Framework’s high-quality engineering; Jürgen helps maintain this clarity by inspiring his co-workers rather than rigidly enforcing code guidelines. Jürgen’s efforts ensure that the spirit of Spring infuses every line of code in the framework.

Thanks to this philosophy, Spring’s framework has never needed a complete rewrite, Instead, it has continuously adapted to the changing trends and challenges, highlighting Jurgen’s skill as a leader. This flexible approach has allowed Spring to grow organically and harmoniously in whichever direction the community needs.

Thank you, Jürgen, for everything you’ve done for Spring Framework!

If you're on Twitter, be sure to bid him congratulations and salutations at @springJuergen. (He won't respond, but I have no doubt he'd appreciate it.)

Thank you, and congratulations, Juergen!