2026 Excellence in Technology Award Finalists
Springfield Tech Council received more than 130 nominations for the 2026 Excellence in Technology Awards. We extend our sincere congratulations to every nominee for earning recognition from a colleague, client, leader, or peer.
We are grateful to those who took the time to thoughtfully prepare and submit nominations, sharing examples of the achievements and impact of their colleagues. We also appreciate the nominees who chose to provide additional information to support the judging process to help tell their stories more fully. Your participation helps shine a spotlight on the incredible talent, innovation, and impact within our region's technology community.
We are proud to announce this year's outstanding finalists. Submissions were reviewed as part of the judging process to identify finalists in each category. Those finalists have now advanced to the final stage of judging, where winners are being selected.
Winners will be announced at our annual Excellence in Technology Awards celebration on Friday, September 25, at the beautiful White River Conference Center. We hope you'll join us as we recognize and celebrate the individuals, teams, and organizations helping shape the future of technology in our community. Individual tickets and table sponsorships are available, as well as event sponsorships.
The finalists are:
Rising Star Finalists:
Nick Board – City of Republic
Nick Robinson - City of Springfield
Cai Staggs - JMARK
Payton Zartman – O’Reilly Auto Parts
Educator of the Year Traditional Finalists:
John Proctor – Ozarks Technical Community College
Bud Siebold – Ozarks Technical Community College
Xiang Guo – Missouri State University
Educator of the Year Non-Traditional Finalists:
Garrett Duncan – Codefi
Joey Harbour – Missouri Cybersecurity Center of Excellence
Brandon Walker – Pitt Technology Group
Technology Executive of the Year (Small Business) Finalists:
Ben Petersen – Resolve IT
Markus Pope – Code Scientists
Matthew Stublefield – Fieldway, LLC
Technology Executive of the Year (Large Business) Finalists:
Senthil Raman – O’Reilly Auto Parts
Kelly Robertson – CNH Reman
Rob Tull – Classy Llama
Solution Designer of the Year Finalists:
Lalitha Selvam – O’Reilly Auto Parts
Jordan Smith – Network Advisors
Will Stone – Classy Llama
Programmer, Analyst, or Developer of the Year Finalists:
Carmen Creswel-Johnson – Bridge
JT Broaddus – O’Reilly Auto Parts
Keenan Gore – CoxHealth
Matt Murray – Next Level Solutions
Tech Professional of the Year (Small Team):
Greg Cantrell – Bluebird Fiber
Lauren Goodin – City Utilities
Lance Shockley – SRC Holdings Corp
Tech Professional of the Year (Large Team):
Heman Kumar – O’Reilly Auto Parts
Joel Payne – Sumner One
Justin Rosselit – Jack Henry
Salesperson of the Year Finalists:
Matt Benton – Next Level Solutions
Greg Gold – Pearson-Kelly Technology
Brian McClure – Distributed Technology Group
Project Manager or Coordinator of the Year Finalists:
Ashley Burris – Distributed Technology Group
Aaron Miller – Jack Henry
Stephanie Praschan – O’Reilly Auto Parts
Jenni Virtue – Classy Llama
Top Speaker STC Squared Finalists:
Caleb Boston & Bridger Falkenstien – Beyond Healing
Jill Coffer – EIS Ltd
Gregg Robbins – Watco
Top Exhibitor Booth STC Squared Finalists:
Sho-Me Technologies
SpringNet
WON Communications
Technology Transformation Award Finalists:
Scott Blevins - Taffy Tree
City Utilities GIS Department
Dwayne Foresee - O’Reilly Auto Parts
Technology Services Provider of the Year Finalists:
Bluebird Fiber
SC Marketing Technologies
Stronghold Data
Community Impact Award Finalists:
efactory
Springfield-Greene County Library - Republic Branch
Zero Abuse Project
Congratulations to the finalists! Your innovations and impact continue to drive progress across the technology landscape. We look forward to celebrating the talent within our industry and community at this unforgettable evening of recognition and achievement.
For more information on the event, agenda, awards, and registration visit https://sgftechcouncil.com/excellence-in-tech-awards
STC is grateful for the continued support of returning sponsors in 2026, including Premier Sponsor Arista and HBS, which returns as our Photo Booth Sponsor. Their ongoing commitment helps make this special event possible.
