OSUEA 4-H Awards

General Guidelines

OSUEA 4-H Awards DEADLINES: February 2, 2015.

HOW AND WHERE TO SEND  Service awards and First Timers scholarship Nominations:  Email your nomination to: Ashley.Jones@oregonstate.edu.  All other awards nominations should be submitted online on the NAE 4-HA website.

NAE4-HA Eligibility: All active and life members of NAE4-HA are eligible for regional and national awards. This includes all members of state associations and those members of NAE4-HA who are not eligible for membership in their state associations. Membership status is determined using the NAE4-HA database as of January 31, 2013.  If you are unsure of your membership status, contact our Membership Chair, Claire Sponseller. (Claire.Sponseller@oregonstate.edu)

NAE4-HA Application Process:  As of 2014, all submissions  except the Service Awards and First Timers Scholarship Award must  be submitted online on the new NAE4-HA Awards online website.  You MUST be an active member to submit for an award.  Read the rules and guidelines for each award category.  Service Award nominations and the First Timers award should be submitted to Ashley.Jones@oregonstate.edu .

Application for OSUEA 4-H  Awards

 SERVICE AWARDS

Application for DSA, MSA and ASA Awards

Specialty Awards

• 1-5 page abstract (these vary from 200 words to “up to five pages” see the guidelines on the Award Categories page of this blog)
• some awards require letters of support (see the guidelines on the Award Categories page of this blog) and may accept supporting documentation (i.e. news releases)

Communicator Awards

• 1-2 page abstract (see the guidelines on the Award Categories page of this blog)
• sample of educational or promotional piece

Tip Sheet

Applying for NAE4-HA Awards

OSUEA4-H Eligibility-

An active member must have paid their dues and be shown as a member in the NAE4-HA database as of December 15 of each year. You can check your membership status by logging onto the password protected area of the NAE4-HA website.

OSUEA4-H Selection-

The selection of Oregon award winners is coordinated by the OSUEA4-HA Member Recognition Chairperson, with the aid of the Member Recognition Committee. Members of the Extension & Experiment Station Communications staff participate in selection of the Communicator Awards. Oregon winners are forwarded on to the Western Region Awards competition. If an entry is also selected as a Western Region Award winner it is forwarded on to the National Award competition.

OSUEA4-H Entry Specifications-

The current information provided on the NAE4-HA web site, www.nae4ha.com, under the Member Resources bar: Awards/Scholarship menu, in the Awards Book takes precedence over any information provided in this tip sheet.

All the items submitted as part of an application should be bound neatly together with a report cover , or similar binding. Larger applications may be in a three-ring binder. Applications with multiple pieces should be in a small portfolio or similar organizer. Remember, your application has a long way to travel to the national award review. Take care that the application is packaged in a form that will travel well in Oregon, to the Western Region judging and then on to the national awards. You will want it to arrive looking its best.

Communicator Awards

Abstracts are required for Communicator Award Applications. Abstracts may be up to one page in length. The general items that are to be covered for a Communicator Abstract are listed in the Entry Specifications section in the Awards Book.

Note that each communicator award class may also have additional abstract requirements specific to that class. For example, information for Award Class 1- Educational Package under Purpose states, “Abstracts must include cost of production and source of funding.” Be sure that all required information is provided in your abstract.

Each Communicator section lists the Purpose of the award and provides a Score Card. Carefully evaluate the material you are planning to submit to be sure it clearly meets the stated guidelines. Occasionally, the committee must move an award application into a different category when the application fails to meet the stated criteria for the award in which it was submitted. Please note that in the Communicator section, when the award name is a “piece” this means one item; when its is a “package” is means more than one item.

Some categories require items to be neatly mounted on cardstock. If this is the case please use a high quality glue or have the copies laminated to the card stock to prevent copies from being separated from the card stock.

Specialty Awards

The types of awards and information for application in this award category changes annually. Read the award category information carefully. There is great variability in the requirements for each of these awards. The application/nomination and narrative or summary statement (if required) must clearly show how the program/project meets the stated criteria. When requesting letters of support for an application/nomination inform the letter writer of the award criteria. Some awards in this category require submission of multiple copies of the award nomination packet. Read all the details carefully in preparing your packet for submission.

Professional Development Awards

All worthy applications for Professional Development Awards are forwarded on to the national review (excluding the First Time Conference Attendee Scholarship) because they are only judged on the national level and not on the state or regional level.

Be sure to follow the guidelines under the Application Must Include and Application Procedure sections of the specific award you are applying to. Notice that multiple copies of the application materials are required.

Please remember to complete BOTH applications (the NAE4-HA Member Recognition Application and the additional application required above) for the award you are applying. An NAE4-HA member can receive an award only once in each Professional Development category.