Fellows Award

I. Purpose of the Fellows

1. To honor and recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions to the nursery industry and to plant propagation in the Southern Region.
2. To serve as a forum for fellowship and potential information exchange among long-term IPPS members who may no longer directly participate on the Southern Region IPPS Board.
3. At the discretion of the current board of directors, to be used as a potential sounding board for current and long-term issues, strategic planning and future direction of the Southern Region IPPS.

II. Mechanics

1. The Fellows meet for a “Dutch-treat” lunch or dinner during the Annual IPPS meeting. The
   current region President and International Delegate shall be present to brief the Fellows on
   IPPS issues.
2. In the event the current Board of Directors requests an ad-hoc committee to be formed, a
   rotating chair will be selected among those Fellows present at the meeting.

III. Criteria and Eligibility

1. Election as a Fellow of the IPPS Southern Region of North America is an honor. A Fellow is
   recognized for contributions to the nursery industry, plant propagation and production in the Southern Region.
2. A Fellow must be an active member of the Southern Region of North America with at least
   10 years of membership in the IPPS.
3. To enhance the intent of an election as a Fellow, no more than 4 individuals per year may be
   selected as a Fellow. Each new class of Fellows will be recognized at the Annual Business
   meeting and presented with a Fellows plaque.

Nomination Procedures

1. During January, the Secretary-Treasurer will send out an announcement to the general
   membership asking for nominations of Fellows.
2. The sponsor of a nominee shall be an active member of the society. The sponsor is to contact
   the Secretary-Treasurer and request a nomination packet, which must be completed by the
   sponsor and submitted back to the Secretary-Treasurer by June 1.
3. The Fellows Screening Committee shall be composed of 4 members and chaired by the 2nd
   Vice-President. At least 2 of the members must not be current members of the EC Board. The
   nomination committee at the annual meetings is responsible for recommending the Fellows
   Screening Committee members. During the first year for the purpose of continuity, the Fellows
   Screening Committee members will serve for one-, two-, or three-year appointments, with 1
   member to be annually rotated off. In each subsequent year one new committee member will
   be rotated on for a 3-year term. A selection committee member may serve no more than 3
   continuous terms.
4. No current board member is eligible for election as a Fellow until after his/her term expires.

Action by the Awards Committee

1. Upon receipt of the completed nomination documents from the Secretary-Treasurer, each
   committee member will rank the top 5 candidates (#1 = 10 pts, #2 = 8 pts, #3 = 6 pts, #4 = 4 pts
   and #5 = 2 pts) and mail such votes to the current 2nd Vice-President.
2. As chairman, the 2nd Vice-President will report the committee’s recommendation to the
   Secretary-Treasurer. (The committee’s recommendation should be reported at the MidSummer EC Meeting. The newly elected Fellows are announced at the annual business
   meeting.)

Sidney B. Meadows Award of Merit

Purpose of the Sidney B. Meadows Award of Merit

• To honor and recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions to the nursery industry and to plant propagation in the Southern Region of North America.
• This is the highest honor bestowed upon a member.

Criteria

• Must have been a member of the Southern Region IPPS
• Has made an outstanding contribution to the IPPS and to plant propagation and production
• Dedication to the ideals of the society to “seek and share”
• Award cannot be presented to an individual more than once

Award Committee

Composed of five members: 3 most recent past presidents and 2 most recent recipients of the award

The chairperson is the earliest elected past president, i.e. senior past president. The chairperson is rotated off the committee after each year.

Nomination Process

Any member can nominate an individual for consideration. The Secretary-Treasurer must receive this nomination by June 1.

Nomination Form

The Southern Region Secretary-Treasurer will annually send out an announcement to the general membership asking for nominations, which will be passed on to the Chairperson. The Secretary-Treasurer will also submit a list of potential nominees for the committee to consider from their computerized membership files, which contains past positions held, contributions to the IPPS, propagation, and other worthy achievements.

After receiving this information from the Secretary-Treasurer, the Chairperson sends the list of potential awardees, along with any information received by the Secretary-Treasurer, to the committee members in May.

Each committee member ranks the top three candidates and submits the information back to the Chairperson, who tallies up the score: 1st = 10 points, 2nd = 7 points, and 3rd = 4 points. There is a column to indicate that no submitted candidate should be considered for that particular year (the award does not need to be given annually). This scored information, with the award winner’s name, is forwarded back to the Secretary-Treasurer.

The Secretary-Treasurer has a plaque made up (by September) for the awardee (the Secretary-Treasurer should personalize this each year – see samples.)

It is the Chairperson’s responsibility to get a biographical sketch of the awardee and forward it to the Secretary-Treasurer. The award is presented at the annual general business meeting and is presented to the awardee by the Chairperson.