SAN DIEGO — More than 150 organizations were selected from approximately 300,000 to receive a Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award in a special ceremony at the 30th Annual Esri International User Conference (Esri UC). The winning organizations received this honor for their vision, leadership, hard work, and innovative use of Esri's geographic information system (GIS) technology.

"We created the Special Achievement in GIS Award to recognize our users' extraordinary contributions to global society," said Esri president Jack Dangermond. "Each year, I look forward to being part of this ceremony; it's a tradition that has gained great meaning and importance for professionals in the GIS industry."

GIS combines computer hardware, software, data, and, most importantly, people to collect, manage, and analyze geographic information. Virtually any information can be linked to a geographic location, helping people see that information as part of a complete picture. With GIS, users can view relationships, processes, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. Whether they are responding to a natural disaster, growing a business, or sharing information with the public, GIS helps them solve problems and make smart decisions. More than 1 million people worldwide rely on GIS to learn and plan geographically.

The SAG Award ceremony was held at the San Diego Convention Center and presided over by Dangermond. Thousands of SAG Award nominations are submitted by Esri staff every year, then personally reviewed and selected by Dangermond.

Organizations being honored at the Esri UC, the world's largest GIS event, span countries and industries including agriculture, cartography, climate change, defense and intelligence, economic development, education, government, health and human services, telecommunications, and utilities. For more information, visit www.esri.com/sag.