Trooper Award
The document below outlines the criteria and process for nominating a club member for the annual Trouper Award (here is the word doc version: Award Doc.).
What is the Trouper Award?
This special award is designed to recognize outstanding/above and beyond service to the club – not just club participation at a higher-than-most-other-members level, which is easily achievable. It is intended to recognize the exemplary efforts of club members who took initiative to affect outcomes for the betterment of TRACS, not just ongoing support of TRACS.
TRACS was established as a “working” club and so, simply working at trials, filling keyworker positions, taking tasks that support events (regardless of how often), and the like, are not sufficient justification for nominating someone for this award. These types of activities are what TRACS members do (or should be doing) as a matter of routine.
This award is not given out every year – it is only given out when a nomination is recognized as meritorious enough to deserve the award!
Trouper Award Recipients
- 2022 – Jan Davis
- 2020 – Jim Aitken
- 2011 – Sue Larson
- 2010 – Cathy Beam
- 2009 – Sandy Zajkowski
- 2006 – Penny Larson
- 2005 – Kathie Leggett
- 2004 – Becky Hardenbergh (inaugural year, featuring her dog Trouper)
Trouper Award Criteria, and How To Nominate Someone
- Nominee may NOT be self-nominated but must be nominated by another club member (Rationale: if a person’s actions are not significant enough to be noticed by other club members, they most likely aren’t significant enough to warrant consideration for the award)
- To be nominated for the Trouper award, a member must not only actively support club activities by working at events, but must also have met one of the following:
- Created or developed a program, project or event which is not a normal function of the club (i.e. not one of our annual agility or tracking events)
- Identify a challenge that is creating some sort of difficulty or problem for TRACS
- The problem can be either internal or external to the club
- Develop, and get implemented, a viable solution to resolve said problem
- Done something that can be considered extraordinary, above and beyond, special, new innovative…get the idea? Take it from here…
- Nominations must identify what the person has done and why the club benefited from this activity, any fiscal benefits (although not a requirement for the award) and why these actions should be considered “above and beyond.”
- Candidates may be nominated by more than one person; however simply because someone receives one or more nominations does not mean the award will be given. It is the Board’s evaluation of the person’s actions and the results that determine if the award is given.
- Nominations must be submitted to the TRACS Vice President (because this is a membership program) no later than November 30th of each year. The VP will forward all nominations to the full Board for consideration and final selection. The winner will be announced at the annual meeting in December.
- The award is not necessarily given each year. Simply because someone is nominated does not mean the award will be given. In order to preserve the significance of the award, the Board must agree that the nominated actions warrant special recognition.
- Nominations should not exceed one double spaced, type written page; however, there is no penalty if it does.