February 2023 - Dan Bazan
Best of State Utah nominations are OPEN now. It's that time of year again when we submit nominations for outstanding staff, students, and programs at American Prep.
There are MANY categories for the Best of State Awards. Please take a look at them here and submit any ideas you have for 2023 candidates here, using this form. Dan Bazan will contact you to get further details about your nominee to complete the application.
Reminders:
- You don't have to know everything about your candidate. Please FILL OUT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. It helps.
- If you know someone with more details about your nominee, please include their names in your answers so we can reach out to them.
American Prep has received 23 Best of State Awards, and we are excited to nominate more fantastic staff, students, and programs.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the process of creating an application or read the article below about the tips for writing a great Best of State application.
Thanks so much!
Best of State Utah provides an opportunity to recognize outstanding achievements and contributions to our Utah community every year. You may have seen their gold Best of State medallion emblazoned on our school banners. You might also see their logo at popular restaurants or other businesses in town, but did you know Best of State also offers categories to recognize students, athletes, volunteers, educational advisors, coaches, administrators, and more? The student to the right is Elliot Detjen, a five-year Draper APA alum who won the Best of State Award for the Student K-12 category in 2020.
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Each year, American Prep submits several applications for our staff and departments. If you have an idea for a possible APA submission, please submit a nomination form here. We can help evaluate if this would be an excellent time to apply for that person or group.
This article will share tips for submitting a robust application and highlight interesting categories that may be a good match for future submissions.
Before diving into the application, please consider someone you know who goes above and beyond at American Prep. They could be a staff member, parent volunteer, APA student, or even a department within our school. Keep that person or group in mind as you read through
this article as it may help you visualize how their work can fit into the application questions.
We have also created a helpful printable guide to assist you when writing your application. This guide includes what we've learned from our many submissions and will help you navigate through the application process.
What are the judges looking for?
The Best of State Utah website noted that judges look for individuals, businesses, and organizations that excel, innovate, and contribute.
These three criteria are used to judge Best of State candidates.
While each section is weighted, the descriptions are broad, allowing various applicants to enter a similar category. **Please review the individual descriptions at the bottom of this article.
The goal of the judging process is to be fair and objective, utilizing more than 100 judges to review the nominations. Each nomination is judged on its own merits and scored individually. They are not ranked against each other. Best of State judges perform their assignment(s) individually, away from the possible comments, persuasion, or lobbying of others. This process is overseen by the independent certified public accounting firm Gilbert & Stewart, P.C., which collects and tabulates the scores for accuracy.
After reviewing each nomination, judges assign numerical scores for each of the three criteria.
The paper ballots are mailed directly to the official Best of State accounting firm, Gilbert & Stewart, CPA, where scores are tabulated, and the results are triple-checked for accuracy.
The Best of State Judges
There are different panels of judges for each of the ten divisions. Judges are selected from all over Utah and volunteer their time to review and score applications. Each judge has been recommended by a Utah Chamber of Commerce, an industry association, or a Utah mayor's office as being a leader or expert in their particular field.
Who can submit a Best of State application?
Anyone can apply and even self-nominate for any category. There is a fee for each submission ranging from $35 to $200 per application, so it's crucial to have a robust and complete application before you submit it. A reduced application fee of $35 applies to specific categories marked with an asterisk.
Nomination deadlines
The nomination period begins on January 2nd and ends on March 15th. All nominations must be completed by March 15th to be considered.
Best of State Categories
Best of State offers ten division category groups, but there are hundreds of sub-categories within those groups. We encourage you to dive into these sub-categories and become familiar with what options are available.
APA has received 14 Best of State Awards in the last several years. Our awards range from Education to Arts & Entertainment and Sports & Recreation. There are such a wide variety of categories that we believe there are many more opportunities to apply for our talented students, staff, and groups within our school in the coming years.
Here are some examples of the awards American Prep has won to help you identify more possible submissions.
2022 awards:
Category: Education
- Administrator K-12 - Carolyn Sharette
- Teacher - High School - Craig Hollinger
- Early Childhood Music Education - Connie McCullough
- Seminar Training/Education - Trina Christensen
- Individual Music Instruction - Trina Christensen
- Special Education - American Prep Special Education Program
Category: Arts & Entertainment
- Community Music Program - Sistema Utah
- Musical Instruments - Sistema Utah
- Children's Orchestra - Sistema Utah
Category: Community Development
- Individual Volunteer - Hannah Christensen (WV2 Senior)
2021 awards:
Education - Special Education - American Prep - Special Education Program
Education - Management/Employee Training: Trina Christensen
Education - Seminar Training/Education: Trina Christensen
Arts & Entertainment - Community Music Program - Sistema Utah
Arts & Entertainment - Musical Instruments - Sistema Utah
Sports & Recreation - High School Coach - Eva Peterson
2020 awards:
Award - Community Music Program – Sistema Utah
Award - Musical Instruments – Sistema Utah
Education - Arts in Education – Sistema Utah
Education - Management/Employee Training - Trina Christensen
Education - Early Childhood Music Education - Trina Christensen
2018 awards:
Education - Principal - Craig Peterson
Education - Administrator - Carolyn Sharette
2017 awards:
Education - Charter School: American Prep School for New Americans
Awards
All winners from each category receive a Best of State medal. Medal winner nominations are resubmitted to the judges for another round of scoring from each of the ten general divisions. The highest scoring nominees in each of the top ten categories will be selected to receive the BOSS (Best of State Statue).
**Below is a full list of the Best of State Utah categories:
(50%) Achievement in the field of endeavor.
Best of State candidates demonstrate achievement and excellence in their fields of endeavor, producing superior results and outcomes. Evidence for this achievement may include—but is not limited to—recognition from peers, development of superior products, growth, expansion of their enterprise, previous awards, and competitions won.
(30%) Innovation or creativity in approaches, techniques, methods, or processes.
Best of State candidates differentiate themselves positively from others within their field through innovation or creativity in approaches, techniques, methods, or processes.
(20%) Contribution to the quality of life in Utah.
Best of State candidates make Utah a better place. Community service, charitable contributions (financial or goods and services), family-friendly employment policies, environmentally sound practices or policies, increased employment opportunities, community beautification, education, contribution to a strong economy, and cultural contributions are just a few ways people and organizations make Utah a better place to live and work.
If you would like to submit a Best of State nomination for 2023, please download our printable guide. This guide will help you navigate through the application process.