Silver Shovel – Southern Nevada – Nevada Regional Common Ground Alliance

Celebrating Excavators &
Safe Excavation

2025 registration coming soon!

Join us for an amazing (and free!) evening of food, camaraderie and lots of raffle prizes in celebration of Southern Nevada’s excavators!

2025 Event Details:

Date: April 30
Location: SG Bar, 9580 W. Flamingo Rd (215 & Flamingo)
Time: 5 pm – 8 pm
- 5 pm – Visit vendors and socialize
- 6 pm – Dinner starts
- 6:30 pm – Presentation, Silver Shovel Award winner announced, & LOTS OF RAFFLES!
Registration: We expect 150 excavators, locators, landscapers, and NRCGA members. You must be 21 or older to attend. Make sure to RSVP to get on the list!

2025 Registration coming soon!

Silver Shovel Award Criteria

We have updated the way we select candidates for the Silver Shovel Award to better recognize the safety ethics of excavators large and small. To be considered for the award, an excavator must meet the criteria below.

1. Ticket Volume & Ineligibility

An excavator must have called in more than 50 tickets during the 2024 calendar year. Utility owner-operators and government entities are excluded from consideration.

2. Divisions Assigned (Based on Ticket Volume)

Excavators are categorized into divisions before damage screening or scoring.

Division A: Top 1/3rd of contractors with the highest ticket volume.
Division B: Middle 1/3rd of contractors based on ticket volume.
Division C: Bottom 1/3rd of contractors (above the 50-ticket threshold).

3. Zero At-Fault Damages

Utility operators “scrub” the list, keeping only those excavators with no at-fault damages to underground utilities in 2024. Damage-free excavators from each division are notified and invited to fill out a questionnaire to be considered for the Silver Shovel. They are also listed on the NRCGA’s Zero At-Fault Damages web page.

4. Submissions Reviewed by Silver Shovel Award Committee

After the February 28, 2025, cut-off date, all submissions are reviewed and scored by the Silver Shovel Award Committee. Company names are omitted to preserve the integrity of the process. The excavator with the highest score from each division moves on to in-person interviews with the Board of Directors.

5. In-Person Interview with Board of Directors

The NRCGA’s Board of Directors conduct in-person interviews with the top excavator from each division. Directors rate the candidates responses. The candidate with the highest score wins the Silver Shovel.

6. Attend Silver Shovel Ceremony

The winning candidate is kept top secret and announced at the Silver Shovel Award ceremony. The top excavator receives a life-size silver shovel trophy and complimentary NRCGA membership for the year.