- Kevin Knutson - City of Reno, Nevada (2011)
- Linda Harris - City of Decatur, Georgia (2012)
- Michelle Bono - City of Tallahassee, Florida (2013)
- Pier Simeri - City of Avondale, Arizona (2014)
- Chris Floore - Macon-Bibb County, Georgia (2015)
- Tom Bryson - City of Farmers Branch, Texas (2016)
- Nannette Rodriguez - Clerk & Comptroller, Palm Beach County, Florida (2017)
- Will Hampton - City of Round Rock, Texas (2018)
- Julie Brechbill - City of Roswell, Georgia (2019)
- Carrie Lujan - City of Santa Clarita, California (2021)
- Kara Roberson - City of Wentzville, Missouri (2022)
Nominees for the award are judged on a wide variety of qualities, including leadership, innovation and strategic planning, ethics, quality of their work, and contributions to 3CMA.