Governor's Award Program
About the Governor's Award Program
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 year, the governor and state leaders take this opportunity to acknowledge the impact of employees and celebrate their successes and outstanding accomplishments over the past year.
The dedication of state employees can be seen every day across the state. These awards celebrate this dedication to Montana, both seen and unseen.
Nomination information coming soon!
If you have questions now, please contact at (406) 444-3871.
Nomination information coming soon!
If you have questions now, please contact at (406) 444-3871.
2026 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Performance Timeline
The Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Performance is a statewide program to honor and recognize the exceptional accomplishments of outstanding state employees. Below is the timeline for this year’s Governor’s Awards nomination and selection process.
June 1 – June 12:
Nominations Open – Any state employee may nominate a fellow state employee or team of employees for this award. All Individual and Team nominations must be submitted online by the June 12 deadline.
June 15 – June 26
Agency Nominations to State HR – Each agency reviews its nominations received and selects the nominations to be submitted for consideration for the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Performance. Each department can submit up to a maximum of three nominations.
June 29 – July 10
Governor’s Award Recipients Selected – All department nominations are provided to the Governor’s office to selects the 2026 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Performance recipients.
July 13 – 17
Governor’s Award Recipients Notified – State HR sends a congratulatory email notifying each Governor’s Awards recipient for being selected to receive the award.
July 20 – 24
Award Recipients’ Information Confirmed – State HR confirms each recipient’s information for the Governor’s Awards event.
September 21
Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Performance presentation held at the Best Western Great Northern Convention Center in Helena beginning at 1 p.m.
Location:
Best Western Great Northern
Convention Center
835 Great Northern Boulevard
Helena, MT 59601-3315
For more information or if you have questions, please contact Joanne Polyasko at jpolyasko2@mt.gov or by calling (406) 444-3871.
Awards Nomination Criteria
Each Individual or Team nomination will be evaluated regarding how they clearly met or exceeded the award criteria.
Concrete examples, measurable outcomes, specific actions taken, and the results achieved much be listed demonstrating 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.
Award Criteria:
The Individual or Team must perform above and beyond the regular expectations of the person’s or team’s job. A detailed explanation must be provided identifying how the individual or 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),
- Demonstrate exceptional customer service that is significantly beyond the scope of the employee’s or team’s performance.