The family of David and Melanie Hergenroeder were named the 2012 Madison Family of the Year.

Out of 48 nominated families, the Hergenroeders were among three finalist families, which also included the families of Dow and Holly Canup and Mark and Cindy Davis.

“With all of the wonderful families here in Madison, families who get involved and support the community, any one of them could have been named the Madison Family of the Year,” said David Hergenroeder. “We were a bit surprised to be nominated for this award. We are definitely honored to have been selected to represent the families of Madison.

The announcement was made at a celebration at the Madison Hospital on Sept. 22.

David, Melanie and their youngest child David stood with the two other finalist families stood near the bottom of a staircase during the announcement ceremony in the hospital lobby. When they were announced as the winning family, their other two children, John and Laura, made a surprise entrance from the top of the staircase.

The two secretly arrived in Madison earlier in the day. John lives in Chicago and works in software engineering, and Laura attends the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

John and Laura are Bob Jones High School graduates, Class of 2007 and 2010, respectively. John is a 2011 graduate of Washington University in Saint Louis, Mo. David is set to graduate from Bob Jones in 2013.

The Hergenroeders moved to Madison in 2004, after living in many places around the world. David and Melanie both served in the Army, and Melanie is now a part of the Army Reserve. David works with the Missile Defense Agency on Redstone Arsenal.

Read more about the Hergenroeder family in the upcoming November edition of “Madison Living” magazine.