Left to right: Cathilea Robinett, Center For Digital Government; Kate Connolly, Unisys; Mike Cantrell (Visionary Award) Dallas County Juvenile Information System; Tonya Brenneman, InfoIntegration; Mike Griffiths, (Best Application Serving Multiple Jurisdictions) Dallas County Juvenile Information System; Rebecca Lewis and Robert Moore of InfoIntegration; Carolyn Price, Government Technology Conference.
"This year's Best of Texas demonstrates that a new way of doing the public's business has taken root in the Lone Star state," said Paul Taylor, chief strategy officer of the Center for Digital Government. "TexasOnline continues to deliver public value with the addition of a suite of licensing transactions while individual public agencies -- large and small, state, local and academic -- are using networked digital solutions to do important work that was once labor- and paper-intensive. They represent best-in-nation thinking and the people who built them reflect the best of public service."
The Best of Texas awards program was established to salute IT professionals and local government organizations for their dedication, hard work and contributions in the state of Texas. The winners are selected based on a set of criteria, including collaboration between agencies, innovative use of technology, and improvement of services to citizens or state employees.
Winners in each category of the 2005 Best of Texas awards program are:
- Visionary Award: Mike Cantrell, Commissioner, Dallas County Juvenile Information System
- Demonstrated Leadership in Management of Information Technology: Alex Z. Pettit, Director of Technology Services, City of Denton
- Demonstrated Excellence in Project Collaboration: Licenses, Permits and Registrations, Texas Department of Information Resources
- Demonstrated Excellence in Project Delivery: Shane Huff, Technology Specialist, Crandall Independent School District
- Best Application Serving a Public Organization's Business Needs: Electronic Health Network, University of Texas Medical Branch
- Best Application Serving the Public: Mobile Implementation Project, Adult Protective Services, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
- Best Application Serving the Public: eGrants, Texas Education Agency
- Best Application Serving Multiple Jurisdictions: Dallas County Juvenile Information System
- Best Application Serving Multiple Jurisdictions: Shared Radio System, Lower Colorado River Authority (central Texas)
- Most Innovative Use of Technology: Collective Communication System, Town of Flower Mound
- Best Sustainable Value: The Project - BRIDGE (Bringing Resource Integration and Data together for Greater Efficiency), Texas Department of Agriculture.
