Are you considering nominating someone for the Robert V. Bishop Award? If you have decided to do this, have you considered the following questions:
1. Has someone taken a close look as the requirements for the Award as well as the requirements for the Nomination Package?
2. Have you put together a team (or committee) to prepare the Nomination Package?
If your answer to either or both of these questions is "No" then you are way behind and need to get things moving. Speaking as someone who has nominated four people for the Award, I can tell you it is no simple task.
The Robert V. Bishop Award is the highest recognition that can be bestowed on an individual from the Gulf States Region and requires a great deal of work to make sure that the deserving individual nominated is properly recognized for their efforts over the years. The standards for the award are quite stringent and a Jury of Bishop Award Recipients are the ones who review and vote whether to award this honor. Previous winners are very judicious in their deliberations and strive to maintain the high standards required for the receipt of the Award.
So where does that leave you? Well let me give you some good tips for preparing a really good nomination Package.
Writing an Effective Nomination Package
The easiest way is to think of a Nomination Package and especially the narrative portion, as a specification. The narrative has a beginning which we can call Part 1, a body which we can call Part 2, and a closure/summary which we can call Part 3. Just like a specification, if you don't fill in all three parts, the narrative will be incomplete. So let's break this down into its individual components.
Part 1 – the Introduction
This is the portion of the narrative where you introduce the reviewer to the individual being nominated. Besides the obvious name and suffixes (CSI, CDT, etc), you need to make a verbal snapshot of this individual, group, or Organization. Keep it simple and short, but make sure that their involvement is stressed along with their part in the process that resulted in the nomination.
The places where errors come in are, believe it or not, misspelling the name, having the wrong suffixes included or not included at all, and leaving out the connections between the individual and the effort which resulted in the nomination.
What you are trying to do is to help get the reviewer to think like the nominee is standing right in front of them.
Part 2 – the Body
This is the portion of the narrative where you describe, in detail, the accomplishments and/or actions which resulted in this nomination as well as the results (if any) of these accomplishments/actions. The key here is to be detailed without being over complicated. Don't try to dazzle with large words or industry specific terminology. The best way is to make sure you answer the 5 "Ws" of good writing - "Who, What, When, Where and Why". If you can answer these questions, then your narrative contains all the appropriate information.
Also keep in mind that being thorough, brief, concise and accurate are also important. Stress making sure you are accurate. There is nothing worse than submitting something and then discovering that part or all of the information presented may not be correct.
Part 3 – the Conclusion
This is the portion of the narrative where you sell the nomination. You should summarize the information presented in the "Body", you should also remember that these words will be the last thing the reviewer reads and they will carry the burden of comparison to any other nomination packages reviewed.
Make sure you identify the nominee again, that the key elements of the nomination are stressed again, and close with language that could be utilized on the Certificate. Short and distinct sentence structure coupled with very selective inclusion of information will be the key here. Always close on a high point and make is sounds like the reviewer only needs to read that part and they will know the nominee deserves to receive the award.
Final Considerations
Just like writing a specification, before you publish there are considerations that need to be looked at. In a nomination package, the following items are especially important.
1. Make sure that the Nominee's information is correct throughout the submission.
2. Don't include extraneous information or attachments.
3. Make sure the nomination narrative supports the award being submitted.
4. Check and make sure all award required items are included (pictures, endorsement letters, CSI Resume, etc).
5, Have a person not associated with writing the narrative check it for spelling, grammar and correct information.
6. If a suggested certificate narrative is requested, then keep it factual, short, and meaningful. Don't try to be cute.
7. Finally, make sure you send the nomination in on time and get a receipt of some sort for it's receipt. If something happens and it can't be found and you can't prove it was received and by whom, you might as well not have sent it.
Now I think you see what it takes a team and good period of time to write a nomination for this Award. Since it is due January 15th to the Region President, I would think you really need to get started.
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Billy Mathis FCSI, CDT
Administrative Assistant for Architecture
Taggart Architects
North Little Rock AR
501-758-7443
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