WAURISA AWARDS

The Washington State Chapter of URISA (WAURISA) strives to show accomplishments of professionals in the GIS community of Washington state along with working with students who are looking into a career in the GIS field.

The Summit Award

The Summit Award is given to the Washington State GIS Person of the Year. It is given to a person who has contributed to the GIS Community in Washington State. This award is given out annually at the WAURISA Conference held in spring.

Criteria:

The person should have 5+ years of experience working in a GIS/IT field in the State of Washington and have shown a long-term commitment to the field.
The person should be known for their excellent work in the GIS/IT field. They should be known for successful projects that add value to the GIS/IT industry innovative solutions (with emphasis on local and statewide contributions).
The person should have given considerable volunteer time for GIS/IT Conferences, Monthly User Group Meetings, Seasonal Workshops, etc. (with emphasis on local and statewide contributions).
The person should have made efforts to share the wisdom of their GIS/IT experience to help other GIS/IT users through giving presentations, answering phone and email questions, etc. (with emphasis on local and statewide contributions).

Previous Winners

2011 - Tom Nolan - City of Seattle
2010 - Ian Von Essen - Spokane County
2009 - Marty Balikov - ESRI
2008 - Mike Onzay - City of Mercer Island
2007 - Donna Wendt - City of Tacoma
2006 - Nancy Hultquist - Central Washington University, Geography Dept.
2005 - Geoff Almvig - Skagit County
2004 - Linda Gerull - Pierce County
2003 - Richard "Dick" Thomas - Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District

Dick Thomas Memorial Award - Student Presentation Competition

This award was established to honor Washington State GIS pioneer and mentor Richard 'Dick' Thomas. The intent of this award is to honor Dick by continuing his work of encouraging students to excel in their studies and transition successfully into careers in the field of GIS. WAURISA's goal is to inspire students to present their original work related to GIS, geography, or geographic research in Washington State at the annual Washington GIS Conference. The awards consist of a Plaque/Certificate, free membership to WAURISA, cash and other awards.

The competition has two parts:

The first is the selection of at least four (4) abstracts by the WAURISA Student Presentation Competition Committee. Abstracts are to have a maximum of 300 words describing the proposed presentation. These papers will be presented during the Student Presentation Session at the annual Washington GIS Conference.

The second part is the judging of the selected student presentations at the Student Presentation Session at the annual Washington GIS Conference. The presentations are limited to 15 - 20 minutes, with a possible additional 5 minutes for questions.

This year we are continuing the award of $500 to be given to the advisor or professor of the first place winner.

Previous First Place Winners

2010 - Stephan Gmur - University of Washington (full report)
2009 - Jessica Larson - Green River College (full report)
2008 - Joowon Park - College of Forest Resources at University of Washington (full report)
2007 - Mike Westra - University of Washington GIS Certificate Program (full report)

Poster/Map Contest

Among many activites at the annual conference we also include a Poster/Map Contest. This is a great oppurtunity to showcase GIS maps that have been produced by the members. Past Categories include Current Events, Innovation in Analyses / Information Presentation, Specific Field or Application (e.g. transportation, public services, utilities, etc.),Cartographic Excellence and the popular People’s Choice