KNOWLEDGE CENTER
Awards
EDDEs Application / Award Info
Every year, AAED honors significant contributions to the advancement of the organization and economic development within the State of Arizona. The Economic Development Distinguished by Excellence (EDDE) Awards were established by the members of AAED to recognize the outstanding work of their peers. The membership of AAED is responsible for nominating their peers for these awards. The value and prestige of the EDDE’s are defined by the membership through their accomplishments and commitment to the organization. Your nomination is a recognition of their efforts.
Award nomination forms make it easy to nominate someone and give the judging panel the information needed to judge the nominees. Nomination forms for the EDDE’s are available online. The AAED Office must receive all nomination forms and supplemental documents. Please submit your nominations on the form below or email them to info@aaed.com.
Stay up-to-date about the Golden Prospector and EDDE application timelines by joining our email list!
NOMINATION ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
- Nominations may be made only by members of AAED.
- Self-nominations by an individual or an employee of an organization are acceptable. Self-nominations must be endorsed by an AAED member.
- Companies and individuals are not eligible to win the same award two years in a row.
- Written and electronic nominations submitted on or before the nomination deadline will be eligible for consideration for EDDE’s, Lampkin Award, and Best of Arizona Award.
- Late nominations due to reasonable uncontrollable circumstances (technological failure, mail delay, accidents, etc) may be considered for eligibility by the EDDE Task Force.
- “Endorsement” nominations made by groups of people from different organizations may not be considered by the EDDE Task Force to be eligible nominations.
JUDGING PANEL
Judging Panel Selection Pools is developed by the EDDE Task Force and approved by the Board of Directors. The EDDE Judging Panel shall have a minimum of 7 members and should reflect the geographic membership of AAED. The EDDE Judging Panel shall be comprised of at least one person from each of the following categories:
- EDDE Awards Committee Chair
- EDDE Awards Board Liaison
- EDDE Awards Committee member
- AAED Past President
- Current AAED Committee Chair
- Current AAED Board Member
- Past EDDE Award Winner
The AAED President Elect should not serve on the EDDE Judging Panel.
EDDE awards judges should recuse themselves from voting on a specific award in the following circumstances:
- The judge works for the same organization as the nominee.
- The judge is an employee, stakeholder or owner of a nominated organization.
- The judge is a nominee.
AWARD TIPS AND TRICKS

2026 EDDE AWARD ENTRY DEADLINE:
COMING SOON!
Golden Prospector Application / Award Info
The Golden Prospector awards were established by the Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED) to encourage and recognize excellence in economic development.
The early submission deadline for the 2025 Golden Prospector Awards is August 8 and the final deadline is August 22 at 4:00pm.
NOMINATION ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The 2025 Golden Prospector Awards is open to all AAED members in good standing. To be eligible, at least some part of the project must have occurred in 2024 and have been completed by June 30, 2025. For a project to be considered completed in the “Deal of the Year” category, it must be considered closed by the Municipality and the regional or representative economic development organization or the Arizona Commerce Authority by June 30, 2025.
JUDGING PROCESS
All entries are judged based on the criteria included in the entry guidelines and each entry will be judged by three judges. Entries receiving 90% or more of the total points available are eligible for a Golden Prospector; entries receiving 89% – 80% of total point available are eligible for an Award of Merit. The judges may award multiple winners or no winners, based on the total points and entries received. Judges reserve the right to move entries to alternative categories that they believe to be more appropriate. The decision of the judges is final. The judges, judging process, and deliberations are confidential. AAED reserves the right to exclude any entry for any reason.
SUBMITTAL PROCESS
All entries and support materials must be submitted below or emailed to info@aaed.com. Marketing brochure entries must provide three (3) hard copies and be mailed/delivered to the AAED office.
ENTRY FEES
Early – $100 by Friday, August 8, 2025
After August 8, 2025 – $150 until Friday, August 22, 2025
Entries must be received, not postmarked, by 4 p.m. on Friday, August 22, 2025.
Entries will not be accepted after August 22.
Finalists in each category will be notified shortly after the judging of the Golden Prospector entries, no later than September 26, 2025. From these finalists, Golden Prospector and Award of Merit recipients will be announced at the Golden Prospector Awards Presentation at the Fall Forum.
SAVE THE DATE
Please plan on attending the 2025 Golden Prospector Awards presentation during the Fall Forum on October 22-24, 2025 in Prescott!
QUESTIONS
Marc Valenzuela, Awards Committee Chair
marc.valenzuela@srpnet.com
602-236-2192
Katie Hurst, CEO
katie@aaed.com
602-240-2233 ext.1

AWARD ENTRY DEADLINES:
EARLY DEADLINE: August 8, 2025
FINAL DEADLINE: August 22, 2025