NIRSA National Service Award

Deadline: The deadline for 2011 National Service Award nominations was August 1, 2010

Purpose

This award is provided as a means of recognizing the outstanding contributions of individual members to the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. The award is intended to acknowledge exceptional performance or dedication, to encourage creativity and innovation and to establish a standard of excellence in professional achievement. Each year up to six awards for professional members and up to three awards for student members shall be presented. Awards shall be given based upon the nomination criteria and need not reflect equal regional balance between all regions in the Association.

Eligibility (revised April 2007)

To be eligible for nomination, the individual should meet all of the following criteria:

1. Hold current membership in NIRSA; 
2. Have held continuous membership in NIRSA for three years preceding the nomination for award. Nominees for the student member award need only have held membership in NIRSA for one year preceding the nomination for award; 
3. Individual members are eligible for student awards for up to one year after completing their student membership;
4. Not have received a national service award within the preceding two years;
5. The award will be given for one-time or cumulative efforts made through April 30 of year of nomination.

Selection Criteria (revised March 2008)

Nominees for these awards should demonstrate exceptional performance in one or more of the following areas. Explain in depth how the nominee contributed to the below accomplishments (i.e. committee chair, special project leader, workshop chair, committee member, etc...)

1. Significant contribution and involvement in leadership and development of NIRSA programs, policies, publications, affirmative action goals and objectives, or the Association’s administrative or financial structure;
2. Significant contributions made to the association that directly impact a NIRSA sponsored national or regional conference, workshop, tournament/event; accomplishment of a NIRSA endorsed special project/assignment or work assigned to a NIRSA committee; or service in a student leadership role within NIRSA; or
3. Significant contributions made to the Association in the form of written publications, presentations or research.

Selection Process (revised March 2008)

The selection process is as follows:

1. Professional Member Awards (up to 6) – The National Service Awards Committee will serve as the selection committee for this award. All nomination forms will be submitted via the NIRSA awards website and then forwarded to the committee chair to disburse among the committee members for their review. The National Service Award Committee will select up to six professionals as award winners. This information will then be forwarded to the NIRSA National Center Liaison by November 1.
2. Student Member Awards (up to 3) - The National Student Representative and three selected Regional Student Representatives shall serve as the selection committee. The Student Selection Committee shall evaluate nominations of all qualified individuals and will vote approval of up to three awards for student members each year. The National Student Representative shall provide the name of the student National Service Award winners to the Chair of the National Service Award Committee by November 1. 
3. All nominations shall be kept in confidence by the NNC and the National Service Award Committee. 
4. Nominations shall not be carried over. 
5. Nominations shall only be accepted from, and on behalf of, current members of NIRSA. 
6. The names of all finalists shall be published in the NIRSA Know; winners shall be kept confidential until the awards are announced/published at the Annual National Conference. 
7. The Chair will contact each recipient (professional and student) of the National Service Award by February 1. 
8. The Chair will send an email to the nominators of the candidates who did not win encouraging them to nominate their candidate again.

Special Circumstances for Selection Process (adopted August 2010)

When a current National Service Award Committee member has been nominated for this award, the following procedure is to be used:

1. The nomination of the current committee member should be kept confidential from the nominated member.
2. The full committee should review all other nominations and determine which nominees will be put forward for the award.
3. Once the group of finalists has been determined, a completely separate meeting should be convened and attended by only those committee members who are not nominated for an award.
4. The nomination of the current committee member should be reviewed to determine if the member is qualified for the award. The committee must then decide if this should be an additional award or if, based on greater qualifications for the award, the nominated committee member should replace an existing finalist.
5. The final award recipients will be determined at this time by the committee members who are not nominated.

Nature of the Award

The award itself shall be a plaque with inscription, which is consistent from year to year. The award shall be ordered by the NIRSA National Center.

Presentation

The award shall be presented during the NIRSA Annual Conference. In addition, the names of the award recipients shall be published in the NIRSA Know and other appropriate NIRSA Annual Conference materials.

NIRSA National Center staff liaison is Sarah Kirk