The Citation for Outstanding Service to the Society

Award Qualifications

This Citation is intended to recognize individuals for dedicated service for the betterment of the Society over a sustained period of time. Consideration will be given for service at the Society-wide, Regional, and Section levels.

This Citation is not intended to recognize technological achievement, service in Society Offices, or services which may be more appropriately recognized by other medals or awards.

Up to five individuals may be selected annually, but discretion is strongly advised.

Guidelines for Submitting Nominations

The selection process for this award now includes two components: a written nomination and a presentation to the committee.

Step 1: Written Nomination Form

The first step in the process is to submit a written nomination and submit to the committee before the deadline, which is usually in April. Contact and deadline information are included on the nomination form. The committee will review all nominations and, if necessary, they will issue a Preliminary Ballot to select the top five nominations for consideration.

To aid in submitting a successful application for the award, here are some guidelines to ensure a fair and consistent consideration by the committee.

• It is very important that the nominee is unaware that they are being nominated.
• A detailed description of Society and/or Section-related contributions needs to be included including approximate dates.
• The nominee must be a SMPTE member to be eligible for the award. It is also helpful to note how long they have been a member (contact Membership for this information). 

Tips for ‘successful’ applications:

• We look for strong commitment and support to the Society and/or Section over time, rather than a single contribution (serving one term in a position, assisting with one event, etc.). Serving various Section management roles is not a strong reason for nomination.
• Describe how the candidate’s work has positively impacted or improved the Society or Section.
• Provide comments or testimonials from other individuals regarding the contributions of the candidate, if possible.

• Show metrics if possible (Mr. Smith’s recruitment efforts brought in fifteen additional members to the Section…; Due to Mr. Smith’s sponsorship solicitations we do not need to pay room rentals for our meetings; Mr. Smith has consistently recruited speakers for our meetings over the past two years, etc.).

Step 2: Presentation to the Award Committee

Once the Committee has reviewed all nominations, the top five will be presented to the Committee by the nominator(s). The presentation will occur at a scheduled time and date, and the nominator(s) will have a set amount of time to address the committee and provide any supplemental information on their nominee. This should include a PowerPoint or similar presentation, and can include mixed media. Following the presentation, the Committee will have the opportunity to ask questions and to request addition information, if needed.

Citation for Outstanding Service Award Committee:

The selection committee consists of

• Membership Vice-President as Chair
• One each of the Membership, Standards, and Education Directors
• One to three additional members, appointed by the Chair.

Balloting Procedures

Nominations for this Citation shall be solicited from each Section, as well as from the Executive Committee. Additional nominations may be made by any member of the Society.  

Up to five individuals may be selected annually but discretion is strongly advised. If more than five individuals are nominated in a single year, the preferential balloting procedures set forth in the Governance Operations Manual, Section 18.1.1, shall be used, except that only the five top scoring candidates shall be considered in the final balloting. These five candidates (or fewer, if less than five are nominated and preferential balloting is not needed) shall be listed on a final ballot.  The Committee shall have at least one face-to-face meeting or telephone conference call to discuss qualifications of all candidates for this citation prior to final balloting.

Members of the Committee, including the Chair, shall indicate acceptance or rejection of each nominee and return the final ballot to Home Office for tabulation within two weeks. Each nominee receiving a majority of votes shall be recommended to the Board for approval as recipients of the Citation.