Recognition & Awards

The objective of the Recognition and Awards Committee shall be to provide leadership in the recognition of outstanding accomplishments by NACAA members including the selection and appropriate recognition awards programs. They shall administer, with the approval of the Board of Directors, the selection and presentation of the Distinguished Service Award, the Achievement Award and Hall of Fame Award.

The Distinguished Service Award shall be presented to members who have served at least 10 years as a member of the Cooperative Extension Service, who have conducted outstanding programs, are held in high esteem by their fellow workers, and are approved by the State Director of Extension. They must be members of their State and National Associations the year that they are selected. States are allocated DSA's based on each state's membership as of February 15 of the previous year. Each state is entitled to DSA's based on 2% of its membership or major fraction thereof. No unfilled quotas can be carried over and applied to future quotas. Recipient must attend Annual Meeting to receive award, unless exempted by Committee Chair because of extenuating circumstances. (Established by Board action, August, 1993.)

The Nominee -

• Shall have served a total of at least 10 years with outstanding service as a member of the Cooperative Extension Service. Must be a member of the NACAA when selected. The cut-off date for determining years of service is February 15 of the current year. Exception: Specialists or others who have only recently been accepted by their State Association must have 10 years or more Extension work experience and been a state member since membership became available in this person's state.
• Should have worked out and put into effect an effective Extension program which includes carrying to completion some constructive and outstanding work. Be specific. Military duties, church work, and civic activities do not apply.
• Shall be actively interested in the improvement of the Cooperative Extension profession. Should participate in the affairs of the State Association and constructively support its program.
• Should have studied some specific Extension subject by group study, correspondence, university residence study, or should have pursued some other means to improve his abilities.
• Must have the recommendation of the State Extension Director.
• Recipient must attend Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference to receive award, unless exempted by Committee Chair because of extenuating circumstances. (Established by Board action, August, 1993.)

 

General Requirements -

• Nominations are limited to 2% and/or major fraction thereof, of the membership of each state. This will be based on the membership paid the NACAA Treasurer on February 15 of the previous year.
• Each State (or district) Association may nominate one nominee, irrespective of the number of Agents.
• A State Association is not required to make a nomination.
• Recognition and Awards Committee of the NACAA must give the final approval on all nominees for awards to be made at the Annual Meeting each year. No publicity should be given until this approval is given to state Extension Directors.
• All information should be in the hands of the National Chair Recognition and Awards Committee not later than the deadline date set by National Committee Chair each year.

(Revised 10/1994)

Purpose: The purpose of the Achievement Award Program is to encourage and recognize excellence in the field of professional Extension for members with less than ten years of service.

Selection: Each year, each State Recognition and Awards Committee may submit the names of 2% or fraction thereof of the state's membership based on each state's membership as of February 15 of the previous year, with a minimum of one agent per state. A nomination form is available from the National Recognition and Awards Committee Chair. All winners must be approved by their State Director. Winners will be submitted at the same time as DSA nominees. Recipient must be a member of NACAA when selected and must attend Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference to receive award, unless exempted by Committee Chair because of extenuating circumstances. (Established by Board action, August, 1993.)

Recognition: A Certificate of Achievement will be presented by NACAA to each state winner during the Regional Meetings and the Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference of NACAA. All names will also be listed in the DSA Brochure.

Please forward winner's nomination through the awards submission process to the National Chair Recognition and Awards Committee along with DSA nominees.

Note: NACAA urges State Associations to recognize their state winners at the State Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference and encourage winner (financially, if possible) to attend the National Meeting.

The Achievement Award shall be awarded to Agents with less than 10 years of service in the Cooperative Extension Service who have exhibited excellence in the field of professional Extension. Nominees must be members of the State and National Association the year that they receive the award and have the approval of their state Extension Director. A quota (established by Board action April, 1992 to begin in 1993) shall be 2% or fraction thereof of the state's membership based on each state's membership as of February 15 of the previous year with a minimum of one agent per state. No unfilled quotas can be carried over and applied to future quotas. Recipient must attend Annual Meeting to receive award, unless exempted by Committee Chair because of extenuating circumstances. (Established by Board action, August, 1993.)

An Achievement Award nomination sheet is included on the following page. It is not required for a nomination sent to NACAA. It is intended for use within states to assist with their selection process.

Nominee: __________________________________
Years of Service ______
Date _______
Address ____________________________________________________
City ______________________________ State ______ Zip _______

• List nominee's major project, size, and scope
• Purpose of the major project
• Planning methods used and who was involved
• Length of time from planning to completion of the project
• Extension methods used in carrying out the project
• Results or evaluation of the above project as seen at the county level or beyond
• What influence did this project have on the image of Extension?
• Nominee's contribution to the success of this major project
• Other comments about the Agent's total program
• If nominee had a well-rounded program rather than one major project of note, describe total program and its scope as best you can
• I nominate the above individual because (remarks)

Signature of Nominator ________________________________________________________
Signature of Extension Director _____________________________________

 

Purpose: To recognize a U.S. Citizen who has made a major contribution to American/World Agriculture and is recognized by peers and the general public.

• The award will rotate by NACAA regions and should be limited to one individual per year.
• Recipient will be from the region or regions that host(s) the Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference. That schedule is found in the NACAA By-Laws.
• The nominee may be a public official, lay leader, or other professional individual who has made a significant contribution to American and/or World agriculture including, but not limited to, the Cooperative Extension Service and/or Research.
• Nominations may be made by any member of NACAA and are encouraged to be made through State Associations, but not limited to such.
• All nominees must be approved by their State Association President and State Extension Director.
• Entries are due by March 15, and should be forwarded to NACAA Vice President.
• State Association Presidents in region or regions of current year Annual Meeting should be especially encouraged to make nominations by deadline.
• The recipient of the current year award should be selected during the Spring Board Meeting and immediately notified by the President in a congratulatory letter.
• Recipient is expected to attend the Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference of NACAA. NACAA President is encouraged to involve the current year recipient in prominent position on the program.
• The presentation highlighting the contributions and an appropriate plaque should be made at the General Session of NACAA. (The presentation should be the only one presented at that time.)
• The Selection Committee will be NACAA President, Vice President, and Regional Directors. (President as ex-officio and Vice President as Chair.)
• The Selection Committee, under the direction of the Vice President, should prepare appropriate publicity for current year recipient and release to news media in recipient's home state/city.
• NACAA will pay travel, lodging and meal expenses of the recipient to the Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference. (Revised 7/98)

 

Initiated in 2006, the Hall of Fame Award was developed to recognize NACAA members for demonstrated commitment, dedication and effective leadership in job performance as outstanding educators. Involvement at both the state and national level and outstanding humanitarian service are considered. The Hall of Fame Award will be presented annually to one person from each of the four NACAA regions. All current and life members of the NACAA are eligible, except previous winners. The candidate must have previously been awarded the Distinguished Service Award.

Each state association has the opportunity to nominate one applicant from their state association to be forwarded to the Regional Vice-Chair of Recognition and Awards. The nomination process at the state level will be determined by each state but the award deadlines will align with the AA and DSA. The state may choose a candidate or an applicant may apply to the State Chair of Recognition and Awards. Nomination materials may be submitted electronically to the State Recognition and Awards chair. The nomination packet should contain two testimonial letters from clientele who have knowledge of the educational programming efforts. A one page bio-summary found on the web site must also be completed. The state chair will submit state applicants to Recognition and Awards Regional Vice-Chairs by January 15.

Selection Criteria:

• 40% Demonstrated commitment, dedication and effective leadership in job performance as an outstanding educator.
  • Quality of Extension Programs includes the scope, innovation and appropriateness of the nominee's program to the identified needs of the people and community within his or her assigned area or state.
• 30% Association involvement at the State and National level.
  • Involvement includes length of membership, committee assignments, offices held, AM/PIC attendance, and special assignments.
• 30% Humanitarian activities and leadership outside of normal Extension Programming.
• Humanitarian activities may span any length of time and involve any type of service to one's community beyond the normal call of duty. Examples:
  • Volunteerism (Red Cross, civic organizations, hospitals, EMT, church, youth organizations, crisis teams, etc.); Leadership (Civic organizations, community action groups, church, schools, crisis teams, boards, etc.); personal (Acts of heroism, care of foster children or elderly, philanthropy, etc.)

Winners will be recognized at the AM/PIC Monday General Session. All Hall of Fame winners must register for the AM/PIC and attend the designated ceremony to receive their award. The Recognition and Awards National Committee Chair, in concert with the Recognition and Awards National Committee Vice -Chairs and the NACAA Vice President, will make rulings on request for non- attendance. Excuses may be granted for extreme personal or family illness, circumstance which would seriously jeopardize their job, or similar extreme situations.