REDLANDS, Calif., July 14, 2011 -- Esri acknowledged the achievements of more than 140 domestic and international organizations with the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Awards ceremony at the annual Esri International User Conference (Esri UC) in San Diego, California. The SAG Awards acknowledge innovative and intelligent applications of geographic information system (GIS) technology.

Organizations from around the world honored at the Esri UC span industries including agriculture, cartography, climate change, defense and intelligence, economic development, education, government, health and human services, telecommunications, and utilities.

"The SAG Awards highlight extraordinary achievements and efforts to improve our world," says Esri president Jack Dangermond. "Each year I look forward to being part of this ceremony. It is a tradition that means a great deal to Esri and to GIS professionals."

The SAG Awards ceremony was held at the San Diego Convention Center on July 13, 2011. Thousands of SAG Award nominations are submitted each year. For more information about the 2011 Special Achievement in GIS Award winners, including project information and photos, visit esri.com/sag.

About Esri

Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in geographic information system technology, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at esri.com/news.

Esri, the Esri globe logo, GIS by Esri, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.