Utah Governor Jon Huntsman announced Utah.gov, the official Web site of the state of Utah, has won the 2008 Best of State award for Web-based Community Resource in the category of Community Development.
Utah Best of State Awards recognize and promote outstanding individuals, businesses and organizations throughout Utah. Winners of the awards are judged on innovation, originality, and excellence in their field, and their impact on the community.
The Utah.gov Web site was honored for its effectiveness in delivering more than 1,000 services to Utah citizens. Each month,Utah.gov receives nearly two million visits. In addition, Utah is the number one most visited state government Web site per capita and has the most reach of any of the 50 states per capita, according to a release from the state.
"Utah.gov provides both businesses and citizens easy access to hundreds of services and it's one of the most citizen-friendly sites in the nation," said Steven Fletcher, state CIO and executive director of the Department of Technology Services. "This award recognizes Utah.gov's robust functionality and its appealing design."
This year's contest marks the second time that Utah.gov has received this recognition, the first time in 2007.
"I want to congratulate the staff at the Department of Technology Services and all of the agencies who are responsible for creating and maintaining what is recognized as the best state Web site in the nation," said Huntsman. "This recognition shows our commitment to providing innovative and cutting-edge resources to businesses and citizens alike."
Winners of the 2008 Best of State Awards are rated and judged by more than 100 judges. Each nomination is judged on its own merits and is not ranked against each other by the judges. The independent certified public accounting firm Gilbert & Stewart, P.C. which collects and tabulates the scores for accuracy, carefully oversees the process.
Utah.gov is the state of Utah's official Web portal and won first place in the Center for Digital Government's 2007 Best of the Web competition. The portal is a collaborative effort between the state of Utah and Utah Interactive, a Salt Lake City-based wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC.
