FNSB Press Release:
Fairbanks North Star Borough Honored for Special Achievement in Geographic Information Services
August 12, 2021 (Fairbanks, AK) – Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, recently presented the Fairbanks North Star Borough with Esri's Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award on July 12, 2021, at the annual Esri User Conference, which was presented in a completely virtual format. Selected from over 300,000 eligible candidates, the FNSB GIS Department received the award for its innovative use of mapping and analytics technology and leadership in the field of local government.
The SAG Awards are intended to demonstrate an appreciation for organization's use of GIS to understand complex data and meet global challenges. The users honored with awards are exhibiting all the groundbreaking possibilities of GIS software.
"Meeting our users in person is part of what makes Esri UC so special to me and everyone I work with, but the health of participants is paramount," said Jack Dangermond, Esri founder and president. "As always, I am honored to present these awards to all the organizations recognized for the bold examples they set applying geospatial technologies to their important work in the government, business, and nonprofit sectors."
FNSB has made considerable strides over the past year in modernizing workflows and technology, sharing information, and solving problems using Esri solutions and tools. Some of these accomplishments include the following web applications: the Borough's COVID Risk Matrix, Find My Service Area, Find My Polling Place, Find My Elected Representatives, and 2020 CARES funding application for CARES funding built using Esri technologies. FNSB will launch a web application for service area problem reporting and air quality monitoring later this week.
"Receiving this Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) award from Esri has been exciting because it means that our peers have recognized the advancements and products for our citizens on an international level. Receiving this award encourages my colleagues and me to keep doing what we are doing by continuing to look for new technologies, workflows, and new ways of sharing information, to improve our transparency to the public," said Bryn Dunbar, GIS Analyst at FNSB.
FNSB Digital Services Director Blake Moore said, "The Fairbanks North Star Borough has had an exceptional GIS program for many years, and this award confirms that. In addition, this award recognizes the hard work and efforts made by the staff to utilize GIS technology in support of the Borough mission."
FNSB was one of 193 organizations and only one of two in Alaska —in areas such as commercial industry, defense, transportation, nonprofit work, telecommunications, and government—to be honored.
A list of the 2021 SAG winners can be found here. For more information on FNSB's Geographic Information Services, visit here.
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