Program Integrity
Transparency & judging ethics.
Best of State is not a vanity award. Winners are not selected by staff, sponsors, or paid panels — they are chosen by more than one hundred volunteer judges, and every score is independently audited before any medal is announced.
Independent judges — never staff, never sponsors.
Each of our ten divisions is scored by a different panel of judges drawn from across Utah, recommended by chambers of commerce, industry associations, and mayors' offices as leaders in their field. Judges rotate annually. All judges volunteer their time, and none are compensated by Best of State.
CPA-audited scoring.
After judging closes, every score is collected and triple-checked by the independent CPA firm Gilbert & Stewart, P.C. before medalists are named. Program staff do not see or adjust the rankings; the auditors deliver the final results.
Application fees ≠ pay-to-play.
Best of State receives no government funding. Application fees cover administrative costs — website, awards, judge coordination, and the presentation — and filter out frivolous entries so volunteer judges spend their time on serious nominations. Paying a fee does not increase a nominee's chance of winning; judges never see who paid what, and fees are non-refundable regardless of outcome.
The 100-point rubric.
Judges score every nomination on a 100-point rubric: 50 points for overall excellence and quality, 30 points for creativity and innovation, and 20 points for contribution to the state and community. The rubric is fixed and published — there are no discretionary bonus points.
Is Best of State a scam or vanity award?
No. A vanity award sells trophies to anyone who pays. Best of State has recognized fewer than four thousand winners in more than twenty years, uses independent volunteer judges, and has its scoring audited by an outside CPA firm. Nominees can — and frequently do — enter and not win.