Joe Atchison Award - for Outstanding Service

I am now accepting nominations for NVPS' most distinguished service award - the Joe Atchison Award for Outstanding Service. This award is given very rarely and is not an annual award as very few members could even qualify for it (12 years of active service is a requirement). Please read the below very carefully and if you feel you would like to nominate a potential candidate, please follow the listed criteria (2-5) and send to me no later than March 31st, 2011. It is not enough to just send me a name, you must make a case for your nomination by letting me know why this member is deserving of this award. If I receive any nominations, I will form a committee to evaluate the candidate

Again, please send any nominations with the written criteria to me no later than March 31st, 2011

Thank you for your consideration,

Sandi Croan

President, NVPS

This award was established in 1998 after the death of Dr. Joe Atchison. Joe had been a member of NVPS for many years and made significant contributions to the club. On learning of Joe's death, many club members asked that NVPS find a way to honor Joe's memory. A committee was chartered to study the matter and ultimately recommended a 'service award to go to an individual who has performed outstanding service to the club over a period of many years.' The Board set a very high bar for this award. At its inception, it was strongly believed that only one club member, Dave Carter met the requirements. Joe Atchison was honored by naming the award after him and Dave Carter was honored as the Joe Atchison Award's first recipient." This decision was met with universal approval and is considered the highest award offered by NVPS. Other recipients have been Erwin Siegel, Greg Gregory, Ed Funk, Joe Miller, Andy Klein, Sherwin Kaplan, and Bill Prosser.

The process for making this award is as follows:

Criteria: 

1. Length of service. Service to include at least 12 years of active service. This service must include positions critical to the fulfillment of the NVPS mission. (President, Vice President - Competition, Vice President - Programs, Workshop and Field Trip chairs are particularly critical because of their educational nature)

2. To what extent has this service changed the club for the better?  Describe.

3. Is there tangible evidence of the nominees impact?  Describe.

4. To what extent has the nominee served as a role model/mentor for service by others? Describe.

5. To what extent has the nominee inspired others to serve NVPS? Who has been encouraged to volunteer their services. Describe this "encouragement."

Nominating process:

1. Nomination is to be made in writing to the current president and must describe in detail how each of the above criteria have been met. 

2. A three person committee appointed by the president and chaired by a former Atchison Award winner will review, investigate, and make the final determination.

The award consists of a camera mounted on a block of finished wood with four brass plates for engraving the awardee name and year. It is kept by the awardee for one year and returned to the club for the next winner. A permanent award is also made for the recipient to retain. It has been in the form of a finished wood base (plaque like) with a brass plate for engraving and a crystal vase that sits on the base.