Honor accorded by National Procurement Institute
For the ninth consecutive year, Sarasota County staff has earned the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement award from the National Procurement Institute, the county has announced.
“This achievement recognizes our staff’s incredible work throughout the year and demonstrates Sarasota County’s commitment to being good stewards of our public’s dollars,” said Sarasota County Administrator Jonathan Lewis in a news release.
In 1995, the National Procurement Institute established the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement® (AEP) program, the organization notes on its website. “This prestigious annual award is earned by those organizations that demonstrate excellence by obtaining a high score based on criteria designed to measure innovation, professionalism, productivity, e-procurement, and leadership attributes of the procurement organization,” the Institute adds. “From nine recipients in 1996 to around 200 in the most recent years, the AEP continues to be recognized as the premier award in the public procurement profession,” the Institute points out.
Sarasota County was cited this year for achievements in the following areas, the county news release says:
- Maintaining a program of continuous improvement.
- Utilization of eProcurement and automated technology.
- A cooperative procurement strategy.
- Continued pursuit of excellence.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment, and we are very proud of our Office of Financial Management procurement team for having earned this distinction nine years in a row,” said Kim Radtke, director of Sarasota County Office of Financial Management, in the release.