From matters of life and death to the future of our economy, state workers play critical roles in making our state the best in the nation to learn, to work and to live.

Whether it’s protecting the state’s most vulnerable children from abuse, making sure our colleges and universities are preparing Florida for the future, or planning for smart and efficient use of our taxpayers’ money, state workers are silent heroes in helping our state move forward.

For nearly 30 years, Florida TaxWatch has been the state’s top independent watchdog of government. That’s why we are proud to celebrate state employees who diligently create ingenious and innovative solutions to improve services and ensure that taxpayers are receiving the best return on their tax dollars.

Florida TaxWatch recognizes the challenges our hard-working state employees face every year through the Prudential Productivity Awards program. In 2015, 850 individuals and teams were honored with a Prudential Productivity Award for their tremendous efforts in their careers.

This year, 605 will be recognized. These award-winning state employees are truly making a difference for all Florida families.

Prudential Productivity Award winners are encouraged to work with other agencies to implement their cost savings ideas across state government. Since 1989, thousands of individuals, teams, work units and partnerships have produced nearly $9 billion worth of added value as a direct result of award winners’ achievements and the replication of those achievements.

Over the program’s 27-year history, Florida TaxWatch has discovered more inter-agency cooperation and increased teamwork among award winners to bring savings to Floridians.

Prudential Productivity Award winners are merely a handful of the thousands of outstanding state employees who serve Floridians. These incredible public servants have committed themselves to building a better Florida, one that makes the state a great place to live, raise a family and retire. It is time we committed to them.

For more on the Prudential Productivity Awards, please click here.

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Dominic Calabro is the President & CEO of Florida TaxWatch, the state’s premier taxpayer watchdog for more than 35 years. Column courtesy of Context Florida.