Williamson County Purchasing Department Earns Prestigious Honor

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — The Williamson County Purchasing Department was awarded the prestigious 22nd Annual Achievement of Excellence in Procurement® (AEP) for 2017 from the National Procurement Institute, Inc., officials said.

The 2017 award represents the 18th consecutive year that Williamson County has achieved the honor. The AEP program encourages the development of excellence as well as continued organizational improvement to earn the award annually, according to a county news advisory.

The AEP Award is given to public and non-profit organizations obtaining a high application score based on standardized criteria. The AEP is awarded annually to recognize Innovation, Professionalism, E-Procurement, Productivity, and Leadership in the procurement function, officials said. There were 205 successful applicants this year from 48 counties, 68 cities, 25 higher education agencies, 26 school districts, 26 special districts, and 12 state agencies, officials said.

In addition to the National Procurement Institute, Inc. (NPI), the AEP is sponsored by the California Association of Public Procurement Officials (CAPPO), Institute for Supply Management (ISM), Florida Association of Public Procurement Officials (FAPPO), NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement, National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP), Texas Public Purchasing Association (TxPPA), and the Canadian Public Procurement Council / Conseil canadien des marchés publics (CPPC). The AEP is supported by the Airport Purchasing Group (APG), the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), the National Intergovernmental Purchasing Alliance (National IPA), the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA), the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) and U.S. Communities.

Image: Front row left to right: Will Hutchinson, Blake Skiles, Kerstin Hancock, Erica Smith, Jayme Jasso, Brenda Fuller, Dianne West, Randy Barker. Back row left to right: Precinct 1 Commissioner Terry Cook, Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long, County Judge Dan A. Gattis, Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey, Precinct 4 Commissioner Larry Madsen. Courtesy of Williamson County.