2025 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Performance

State Human Resources is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2025 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Performance begin on Monday, July 14, 2025.

Established in 1990 by Governor Stan Stephens, the Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Performance is a statewide program to honor and recognize the exceptional accomplishments of outstanding state employees.  Any state employee may nominate a fellow state employee for this award.

Each Individual or Team nomination will be evaluated regarding how the individual or team clearly met or exceeded the award criteria.  Concrete examples, measurable outcomes, specific actions taken, and the results achieved must be listed that demonstrate how the nomination criteria were met.  If the detailed information is not included with a nomination, it will not be considered for the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Performance.

Individual Award Criteria:  To nominate an individual, the individual must perform above and beyond the regular expectations of the person’s job. A detailed explanation must be provided that identifies how the individual met or exceeded one or more of the following criteria:

• Demonstrate exceptional innovative approaches which produce significant results;
• Attain significant improvements with efficiencies in government processes (e.g., significantly improved productivity or significant cost savings); and/or
• Demonstrate exceptional customer service that is significantly beyond the scope of the employee’s performance.

Team Award Criteria: To nominate a team of state employees, the team must cooperatively perform and produce work results that are clearly above and beyond the regular expectations of the team’s responsibilities. A detailed explanation must be provided that identifies how the team met or exceeded one or more of the following criteria:

• Demonstrate exceptional innovative approaches which produce significant results;
• Attain significant improvements with efficiencies in government processes (e.g., significantly improved productivity or significant cost savings); and/or
• Demonstrate exceptional customer service that is significantly beyond the scope of the team’s performance.

• July 14 – August 1: Nominations Open – Any state employee may nominate a fellow state employee or team of employees for this award.  Nomination criteria and forms are available below:
   
  • INDIVIDUAL NOMINATION FORM
  • TEAM NOMINATION FORM

A state employee choosing to nominate an individual or team must complete the appropriate nomination form and return the completed form to the individual’s or team’s agency human resources department by the deadline of August 1.  Each agency’s human resources department contacts are available below. 

• August 4 – August 15 – Agency Nominations to State HR – Each agency reviews the nominations received and determines the three nominations to be submitted for consideration for the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Performance. All departments’ nominations must be received in State HR by the end of the day on August 15.  
  
  
• August 18 – August 29 – Governor’s Award Recipients Selected – All department nominations are provided to the Governor’s office. The Governor’s office selects the Governor’s Award recipients from the departments’ nominations.
  
  
• September 2 – September 5 – Governor’s Award Recipients Notified – State HR sends a congratulatory email to notify each Governor’s Awards recipient for being selected to receive the award. This email is also sent to the department director and HR manager.
  
  
• September 8 – September 12 – Award Recipients’ Information Confirmed – State HR confirms the recipient’s name, spelling, etc., to be engraved on the award and included in the Governor’s Awards program.
  
  
• September 15 – Governor’s Award recipients’ information provided to vendor to produce plaques.
  
  
• October 20 – Governor’s Awards presentation reminder email sent to recipients, directors, and HR managers.
  
  
• October 27 – Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Performance presentation held at the Best Western Great Northern Convention Center in Helena beginning at 1 p.m.

STATE HUMAN RESOURCES CONTACT:  For more information or if you have questions, please contact Joanne Polyasko at jpolyasko2@mt.gov or by calling 444-3871.  Thank you for your assistance with this important recognition for our outstanding state colleagues!

Department	Primary Contact	Email	Secondary Contact	Email
Dept of Administration	Chris Bacon	cbacon@mt.gov	Natasha Cook	nacook@mt.gov
Dept of Agriculture	Jesse May	jesse.may@mt.gov	Mikal Wilkerson	mikal.wilkerson@mt.gov
Board of Education	Kris Stockton	kmstockton@mt.gov
Commerce	Sarah Green	sarahgreen@mt.gov	Mandy Rambo	mandy.rambo@mt.gov
Commissioner of Higher Education	Kerry Davant	kdavant@montana.edu	Jackie Salveson	jsalveson@montana.edu
Commissioner of Political Practices	Chris Gallus	christopher.gallus@mt.gov	Kym Trujllo	ktrujillo@mt.gov
Dept of Corrections	Amanda Yocom	amanda.yocom@mt.gov
Dept of Environmental Quality	Christina Lipetzky	clipetzky@mt.gov	James Fehr	james.fehr@mt.gov
Dept of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks	Jeff Kirksey	jkirksey@mt.gov	Jeff Hindoien	jeff.hindoien@mt.gov
Governor's Office	April Trumbo	april.trumbo@mt.gov	Errolyn Lantz	elantz@mt.gov
Dept of Justice	June Henderson	jhenderson@mt.gov	Melissa Gardner	melissa.gardner@mt.gov
P.O.S.T. - Part of Justice	Tim Allred	Timothy.Allred@mt.gov
Labor & Industry	Sam Loveridge	sam.loveridge2@mt.gov	Rhonda Morgan	rmorgan@mt.gov
Livestock	Michael Spatz	michael.spatz2@@mt.gov	Mike Honeycutt	mhoneycutt@mt.gov
Military Affairs	Damien Maricich	damien.maricich@mt.gov	Renea Dorvall	renea.dorvall@mt.gov
Montana Arts Council	Krys Holmes	kburgoyne@mt.gov	Jennifer Alger	jeniferalger@mt.gov
Montana Historical Society	Beth Strandberg	Beth.Strandberg2@mt.gov	Carol Loomis	carol.loomis@mt.gov
Montana Public Service Commission	James Brown	james.brown@mt.gov	David Sanders	david.sanders@mt.gov
Montana School for the Deaf & Blind	Paul Furthmyre	pfurthmyre@msdb.k12.mt.us	Donna Schmidt	dschmidt@msdb.k12.mt.us
State Auditor	Molly Plummer	molly.plummer@mt.gov	Michelle Flynn	Michelle.flynn@mt.gov
Montana State Fund	Angel Volden	avolden@mt.gov	Jennifer Butler	jennifer.butler@mt.gov
Montana State Library	Sharon Hardwick	shardwick@mt.gov	Jennie Stapp	jstapp2@mt.gov
Natural Resources & Conservation	Christy Stapley	cstapley@mt.gov	Becky Quick	rebecca.quick@mt.gov
Office of Public Instruction	Dylan Klapmeier	dylan.klapmeier2@mt.gov	Tyler Capece	tyler.capece@mt.gov
Office of State Public Defender	Brett Schandelson	brett.schandelson@mt.gov	Koan Mercer	kmercer@mt.gov
Public Health & Human Services	Jon Ebelt	jebelt@mt.gov	Holly Matkin	holly.matkin@mt.gov
Public Service Commission	Pres Bradley Molnar	bmolnar@mt.gov	Jennifer Fielder	jfielder@mt.gov
Revenue	Dayle Williams	dayle.williams@mt.gov
Secretary of State's Office	Susan Ames	sames@mt.gov	Julie Lake	julake@mt.gov
Transportation	Tami Bishop Rhodes	tbishoprhodes@mt.gov	Renae Lang	rlang@mt.gov