Esri, the global leader in spatial analytics, presented the SITLA GIS Team with Esri’s Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award on July 11 at the annual Esri User Conference. Selected from over 300,000 eligible candidates, SITLA’s GIS Team received the award for its innovative application of mapping, data analytics, and thought leadership in the field of government. The SAG Awards are meant to show appreciation for organizations that are using GIS to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. Through The Science of Where—the technology of GIS combined with the science of geography—the users honored with these awards are demonstrating the most groundbreaking and transformative possibilities of GIS software. “Esri User Conference is a great forum for our users to come together and share the amazing ways they are implementing GIS technology,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri founder and president. “The organizations recognized here are creating maps and using spatial analytics to make a difference in the world. We are honored to present these awards.” GIS Manager Kate Staley and GIS Analyst Steffie Gould accepted the award on behalf of the team, which also includes Barry Biediger, Gage Coates, Brady Johnson, and Russell Hunsaker. “Our GIS group was honored to accept this award,” said Staley. “We are sharing our agency’s mission and work by broadening the presence of our web GIS to agency staff and the general public using real-time data, maps and apps.” Staley added that with the utilization of Portal for ArcGIS and an ArcGIS Open Data site, the team has expanded the data and knowledge of SITLA to many people. The GIS Team revamped the agency’s Open Data site by republishing web services in an organized manner, and creating simple icons to categorize and brand web services. Through data collaboration with our portal and online sites, the GIS Team is able to share agency web services and web maps with the public. SITLA manages trust lands on behalf of public schools, state hospitals, colleges, and universities. Revenue generated from trust lands is deposited into permanent endowments, from which beneficiaries receive annual interest income. Utah’s public schools will receive $74 million from the $2.5 billion Permanent School Fund this school year. The agency was one of over 180 organizations in areas such as commercial industry, defense, transportation, nonprofit work, and telecommunications to receive a SAG Award. Esri staff annually nominate hundreds of candidates from around the world for consideration, and Dangermond selects the finalists.