No organization makes it to a 25th anniversary without significant contributions from numerous people. During its tenure, EDCUtah has had five CEOs, dozens of Board Chairs, hundreds of staffers and thousands of investors. We've worked on more projects than we can remember and helped grow Utah's economy in truly significant ways. As we collectively look back, I'm sure we all have memories of particular people who made the difference in a key relocation project or stepped up to fill a role that was challenging and thankless, yet critical to our organization's growth.

With this legacy of support in mind, and in honor of our 25th anniversary, we have decided to launch an annual Economic Development Award, to be given to those people who have truly made a mark on Utah's economic landscape. From this year forward, each year at our Annual Meeting, we will formally recognize two individuals that have gone above and beyond in their service to EDCUtah, the state and its citizens.

Why two awards? After 25 years, we know that economic development isn't successful without support from both the public and private sectors. Each group plays a critical role, and it is only through the support of both that EDCUtah has been able to succeed. EDCUtah's founders recognized this and consciously built into its charger and by-laws the sharing of governance. In the spirit of this collaboration, we've chosen to recognize one member of the business community and one member of government annually for their contributions to economic development.

We encourage you to nominate someone you feel has made a difference to economic development in Utah. Nominations will be accepted through Aug. 8, 2012, following which a committee of EDCUtah's public and private sector members will review all nominatees. We will present the awards at our Annual Meeting on Sept. 27, 2012 at the Grand America Hotel. The nomination form (PDF) is located here. If you have any questions please contact myself or Eileen Burt.

Thank you for your commitment to EDCUtah. We look forward to seeing you at this year's Annual Meeting.