Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today announced that the West Virginia Purchasing Division has been awarded the prestigious 18th Annual Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award (AEP) for 2013 from the National Procurement Institute (NPI).
The AEP Award is earned by public and non-profit organizations that obtain a high application score based on standardized criteria. The judging criteria include innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity, and leadership. This program encourages the development of excellence as well as continued organizational improvement to earn the award annually. For 2013, there were 179 successful applicants, including 43 counties, 58 cities, 17 higher education agencies, 23 school districts, 23 special districts, and 15 state agencies. Of the 15 state agencies, six were their state’s purchasing division. The West Virginia Purchasing Division is the only entity in the state of West Virginia to receive this award this year.
“Through its strong leadership and dedicated staff, the Purchasing Division has demonstrated that its progressive efforts in public procurement have not gone unnoticed,” said Governor Tomblin. “This national recognition proves that this agency continues to move in the right direction by ensuring the public’s trust in the spending of the state’s tax dollars.”
In addition to NPI, the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award is sponsored by the California Association of Public Procurement Officials (CAPPO), Florida Association of Public Procurement Officials (FAPPO), the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP), and the Texas Public Purchasing Association (TxPPA).