The Askew Award, as inscribed on the award, is an honor is bestowed "For the utilization of management practices exemplifying the philosophy of the American Academy of Certified Public Managers in the completion of an exceptional curriculum project.”  Only one award each year is granted to an outstanding project in each program across the nation. These awards are named for George C. Askew, the first person to receive CPM certification (by virtue of his last name) at the first graduation ceremony in Georgia in 1976.  Askew was a leader at both the local and national levels in the early days of the organization.  These awards are hand-cast medallions bearing the logo of the AACPM and are inscribed with the recipient's name and year. The medallions are crafted by V.H. Blackinton & Company in Attleboro Falls, Massachusetts. Blackinton & Co. is the nation's oldest producer of custom handcrafted insignia and badges since 1852.  

In Utah, USCPM and DHRM form an annual selection committee to receive and review nominations from among all Course 3 projects in a given calendar year. Exemplary projects are nominated by instructors. The committee examines all documentation and contacts project charterers and/or customers and stakeholders in considering a rigorous set of criteria. The Askew Award recipients are formally announced each year at graduation.  

2006 Askew Award Team Winner

Utah’s Wild TV Team

Jim Dunker

Utah Department of Transportation

2010 South 2760 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84104

Office:  801-887-3403

Cell:  801-910-2054

Email:  j.dunker@utah.gov

William Atkin

Utah Division of Water Rights, DNR

1780 North Research Parkway, Suite 104

Logan, UT 84341

Office:  435-752-8755

Email:  willatkin@utah.gov

Anita Knowley

Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

1625 South 900 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84104

Office:  801-977-6842

Email:  aknowley@utah.gov

Robert Pelly

Utah Department of Transportation

4501 South 2700 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84119

Office:  801-965-4362

Email:  rpelly@utah.gov

Pam Kramer

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, DNR

515 East 5300 South

Ogden, UT 84405

Office:  801-476-2775

Cell:  801-725-8537

Email:  pamkramer@utah.gov

 Project Title and Brief Description:

Utah’s Wild TV Team, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

For nearly eight years, the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) produced and aired a monthly television show entitled “Utah Wild.”  Production and airing of the show ended in 2003 due to budget constraints within the agency.  In 2005, with an improved budget, DWS prioritized funding to produce and air a new wildlife television program.  Utah’s Wild TV Team was chartered to develop recommendations on the structure, content, and timing of the new show.  Utah’s Wild TV team used a variety of methods to gather data about the programming needs mentioned above, including one that is not typically utilized by Course 3 teams – the use of focus groups.  But first the team gathered some preliminary data.  The team interviewed by survey and phone hundreds of people across the state from different demographic areas in order to understand the interests of people across various strata of populations.  They contacted all of the states in the U.S. to see if they had an existing program, what their budget was, how often it aired, content, viewership, etc.  Finally, the team contacted local television stations, and personally interviewed television executives to understand market share, timing, costs and the complexities of producing such a show.  The aggregate effort yielded much information to sort and process.  The team employed matrices, charts, etc. to discover patterns and desirable outcomes.  From there, the team formed some basic opinions of what might be possible.  Using this information, the team developed a focus group format along with sample shows, and conducted two formal, recorded focus groups to see what the groups liked and disliked about structure, content and timing of shows.  Based on all of this information, Utah’s Wild TV Team came up with several well-supported and practical recommendations for DWR’s new TV program.  In addition, the team presented valuable data, organized in a useful manner that was well received and easily understood by the chartering agency.