July 11, 2023
A Challenge to Applaud Good Work
We do a really good job of recognizing the good work we -- or our colleagues -- do through our Difference Makers Facebook page and our Tuesday Letter Shout Out.
We need that to continue. Recognizing people for going above and beyond the call of duty in real time is needed and extremely motivating to the giver, recipient, and those reading about their acts.
One of our recognition programs has always been a bit of a head scratcher for me. In the late summer or early fall, I and the rest of Dean Minton’s leadership team, who act as the awards committee, get excited to read and decide upon the nominations for the annual conference awards.
While I am pleased to read the great work being done by those nominees, I have to admit it isn’t a very big reading assignment. Several entries will only have two or three nominations, and some have no nominations at all. I often see a category and think why isn’t this person, that team, or that program nominated for their work?
The nomination process is not cumbersome and requires the nominee’s name and contact information, the nominator’s name and contact information, and up to three pages of narrative describing why the nominator feels the nominee is deserving of the recognition.
The award categories are:
- Outstanding Local Unit Award,
- Outstanding Local Unit Extension Professional,
- Outstanding Regional or State Department Award,
- Outstanding Regional or State Extension Professional,
- Outstanding Program Focus Team,
- Builder Award,
- Diversity Award,
- Mentoring Awards,
- Team Award,
- Professional Staff Employee of the Year,
- Local Unit Staff Member of the Year.
My guess is that each one of us can think about a great potential nominee or two for each of these awards. So, why not make just the little bit of extra effort needed to make their nomination a reality. In 2023, make the reading assignment for the awards committee extremely large, and, more importantly, make a colleague’s or team of colleagues’ year by applauding their good work by nominating them for a 2023 Annual Conference Award.
For more information, please go to Annual Conference website.