The envelope please….

Okay, no envelopes were used, but a lot of thought and discussion went into deciding the recipients of the 2014 CSAC Challenge Awards. On Wednesday, our judging panel came together in Sacramento to decide on the most innovative, cost-effective programs developed by California counties.

The decision wasn’t easy; it never is. We received more than 200 entries once again this year. When all was said and done, the presentations over, the discussions died down and the votes tallied, the judges decided on 1 California Counties Innovation Award, 11 Challenge Award and 29 Merit Award recipients.

Details won’t be released until next week, but we can say that Alameda, San Diego and Orange Counties should be especially happy with the announcement. Together, they captured 19 of the 41 awards that will be handed out this fall. Overall, a total of 18 Counties are on the list to receive awards.

We will begin working with the Challenge Award-winning counties to set up presentations at future Board of Supervisors meetings. And then soon thereafter we will hit the road to film and write about the top programs.

I want to thank our judging panel for their invaluable contributions to this process. They take their responsibilities very seriously and invest a considerable amount of time reviewing and discussing the entries we receive. I also want to thank every county that submitted entries. The innovative work our counties are doing is truly inspiring. Whether your program and county is an award-winner or not, take time to check out some of these programs. As one judge told me as he left yesterday, “I found three programs I want to take back to my county.” You just may, too.