NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR ARKANSAS' GEOSTOR

Fayetteville, AR-Governor Mike Huckabee today announced that GeoStor, Arkansas’ storage warehouse for spatial data, is being recognized as a national leader in electronic government. The Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Review Committee chose GeoStor as one of only three Information Technology projects nationwide for special recognition. GeoStor Representatives officially receive a 2002 honorable mention award, Monday, October 28th during the Urban & Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) 2002 Conference Reception and Awards Ceremony. Approximately 1,000 participants are expected at this year’s conference, October 26-30, 2002 in Chicago, Illinois.

URISA is considered to be the premier organization for the use and integration of spatial information technology to improve the quality of life in urban and regional environments. URISA serves nearly 7,000 professionals worldwide (http://www.urisa.org/), through its international, national and local chapter operations. The award competition is available to all public agencies at the federal, state, regional, and local levels.

"Every Arkansan should be proud of the work which brought our state this national recognition," Huckabee said. "Once again, a respected organization has recognized this state’s focus on e-government. We continue to prove ourselves on the national and global stages while providing the taxpayers with a more accessible, efficient state government."

GeoStor provides quick and easy flow of mapping information allowing state agencies to utilize and share data, which is something they could not easily do in the past. Prior to GeoStor public agencies faced constantly rising contractor costs in order to prepare geospatial or mapping information. Now state agencies simply acquire data from GeoStor and store new information in GeoStor for sharing and later use. Farmers and soil conservationists use GeoStor for determining the best uses for their land or measuring water usage; highway engineers utilize GeoStor maps for planning transportation projects; emergency management personnel use GeoStor maps for disaster preparedness and response; even public health agencies utilize GeoStor for mapping outbreaks of illnesses and prevention of new outbreaks.

This year, there were 20 candidates in the Enterprise Systems category. Scott Grams, URISA Education Manager says, "A very diverse and knowledgeable committee of 10 individuals ranked and picked these awards over a two month process and through two rounds of reviews."

"We are extremely proud and very excited to receive this honor," states Shelby Johnson, State Geographic Information Coordinator. "GeoStor has taken a lot of dedication from so many different people. We want everyone to know that all of this hard work has reaped great dividends."

Arkansas has been invited to present GeoStor at the Project Showcase. The systems will be on display throughout the conference and there will be a "Meet the Project Showcase Presenters" session on October 27th.

For a description of each award recipient system, please visit http://www.urisa.org/esigannounc.htm. To view Arkansas’ system, GeoStor, please visit http://www.gis.state.ar.us and click the link labeled "GeoStor".

Enterprise Systems

ESIGT Winner:
MetroGIS Data Initiative (St. Paul, MN)

Enterprise System Honorable Mention:
State of Arkansas — GeoStor

Enterprise System Honorable Mention:
Chester County, PA — Land Record Modernization