The City of Menifee’s finance team earned the 2026 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) Award from the National Procurement Institute, Inc. The AEP Award evaluates public agencies against rigorous criteria focused on innovation, professionalism, productivity, eProcurement, and leadership.
“Strong procurement operations reflect the city’s commitment to excellence and responsible stewardship,” Chief Financial Officer Travis Hickey said. “By maintaining effective procurement practices, the city can secure quality goods and services at the best value while fostering a fair, transparent, and accessible process for businesses seeking opportunities to work with the city.”
Menifee’s Finance Department continues to pioneer efforts in the industry and was recognized for modernizing its purchasing and contracting operations. Recent initiatives include updating procurement policies and procedures, increased use of electronic procurement and automated workflows, enhanced vendor access and outreach, professional development and certification of procurement staff, internal customer training, performance measurement, and expanded use of strategic procurement practices.
“This recognition reflects the tremendous progress our Purchasing and Contracting team has made in strengthening and modernizing the city’s procurement program,” Finance Manager Amir Zaki, CPPO, said. “We have focused on creating processes that are more efficient, transparent, and accessible while continuing to look for new ways to improve how we serve our departments, vendors, and community. Receiving the AEP Award validates that work and provides an opportunity for us to continue building on that progress.”
The NIP is a nonprofit organization founded in 1968 that serves public procurement professionals and promotes excellence and best practices in governmental procurement across North America. NPI advances the public procurement profession through education, professional development, networking, and recognition programs, including the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award.
