APPA's highest institutional honor, the "Award for Excellence in Facilities Management (AFE)," recognizes those educational institutions whose facilities management organizations demonstrate quality in overall operations and effectiveness. The Award for Excellence is based on a set of criteria that include: Leadership; Strategic and Operational Planning; Customer Focus; Information and Analysis; Development and Management of Human Resources; Process Management; and Performance Results. It takes teamwork from everyone within the facilities organization and requires coordination, motivation, and support from the top levels of leadership to be a successful facilities operation and to win the APPA Award for Excellence. The 2013 awards, presented by APPA President Mary Vosevich, went to Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas; and the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. The awards were bestowed during a banquet at the APPA 2013 conference held in August in Minneapolis, Minnesota.