communication department

Volume XX Number 6

Honors and Awards

2006–07 Community Award Winners

During STC’s 54th Annual Conference in May, Society President Paula Berger and incoming Second Vice President Cindy Currie announced the winners of the annual Community Achievement Awards. These awards honor STC chapters and special interest groups (SIGs) that have distinguished themselves through exceptional accomplishments in fulfilling the goals of STC.

To earn awards of Merit or Excellence, communities—including student chapters (STs)—complete key activities and apply to the Community Achievement Awards Evaluation Committee (CAAEC) for recognition. A community that earns an Excellence award may also apply for recognition as a Chapter or SIG of Distinction. After reviewing applications and nominations from the CAAEC, the STC Board of Directors selects the Communities of Distinction. (Only one Community of Distinction is selected for each of the size categories established at the beginning of the fiscal year.) The 2006–07 Community Achievement Award recipients are listed below.

Communities of Distinction

Chapters with more than 600 members
Silicon Valley

Chapters with 301 to 600 members
Chicago

Chapters with 151 to 300 members
Lone Star

Chapters with 76 to 150 members
India

Chapters with 41 to 75 members
Southern Arizona

Student chapters with 20 or fewer members
North Carolina State University (ST)

SIGs with 1,500 or more members
Instructional Design & Learning

Communities of Excellence

Atlanta
Berkeley
Boston
Carolina
Houston
Mercer University (ST)
Northeast Ohio
Orlando
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
Rocky Mountain
Washington, D.C.

Communities of Merit

AccessAbility
East Bay
Eastern Ontario
Philadelphia Metro
Trinitite (ST)
Vermont
Willamette Valley

Community Pacesetter Awards

The Community Pacesetter Awards recognize STC communities for highly innovative and successful activities. This program is being revised for next year.

For more information about the Community Achievement Award program, download the guidelines from the STC Web site.

Get a Head Start on CAA 2008

By Dale Erickson, Fellow, Manager of the Community Achievement Award Evaluation Committee, and Tom Barnett, Fellow, Manager of the Community Recognition Committee

Recognition of outstanding community efforts will be broadened this year, with a major overhaul of the Pacesetter Awards, modifications to the Community Achievement Awards (CAA), and new recognition opportunities for outstanding operational excellence.

Each spring, community leaders are invited to submit an entry to the Community Achievement Awards recognition program. Since 2004, entries have been evaluated by the Community Achievement Awards Evaluation Committee (CAAEC).

The CAAEC confirms the activities listed on entries and qualifies award levels of Merit and Excellence. Communities earning Merit and Excellence awards are announced at Leadership Day during STC’s annual conference. An outstanding Excellence award winner from each community size category is recommended to the Board of Directors for the top award of Distinction. Communities of Distinction are announced at the Honors Banquet during the annual conference.

Veteran submitters of entries to the Community Achievement Awards know that documenting a CAA entry requires some good record keeping during the evaluation period—April 1 through March 31—or a good memory. You can make the task easier by downloading the 2008 CAA guidelines and forms from the STC Web site and logging your activities as the year progresses. You can also use the CAA form’s list of activities as a reference for planning your year.

The 2007 CAA guidelines and forms were overhauled to include activities that support STC’s strategic plan. The revised guidelines and forms emphasize community achievement and eliminate most activities that highlight individual accomplishments.

New in the Community Achievement Awards

The 2008 forms contain a number of changes. Last year the rules allowed substitution at all levels, and there were no restrictions on the number of substitutions. This year the Fundamental-level criteria must be completed to be eligible for an award. However, we reduced the number of criteria in the section by one-third and made it easier to complete. You should begin to use the appropriate form to record activities that qualify as CAA activities and to gather the supporting material that is required for most items.

This summer, a group of volunteers began building a set of examples that illustrate what the judges have found to be activities that meet the criteria.

Within the criteria system above the Fundamental level, for a criterion that cannot be accomplished, two activities at the next higher level can be substituted. The CAA guidelines allow innovative activities to be offered as substitutions for activities on the CAA form on a one-for-one basis. If your community has an activity that you want the CAAEC to consider before the submission deadline, send a description of the activity to stc_caaec@hotmail.com with a cc to Evelyn McCamey, STC Manager of Community Relations. The CAAEC will approve or comment on the proposed activity.

The CAA submission deadline is April 18, 2008. As a community leader, you want to make the best use of your time. Avoid the last-minute dash to complete your community’s CAA entry form by getting started now.