2014 R.E.E.L. AWARDS
The 2014 River East Emerging Leaders Awards recognizes outstanding individuals or organizations making a difference in the East of the River community.

The exceptional efforts by such residents, educators, businesses and others often go unnoticed as they prefer to work silently and behind the scenes. But their efforts are impacting the life and character of the communities we call home. The annual awards serves as r.e.e.l’s recognition and appreciation for their service, commitment and dedication to the community we call home.

Definition of Outstanding Service

Recipients of the r.e.e.l. Distinguished Service Awards have demonstrated a sustained commitment to the organization’s mission of engagement and empowerment in the East of the River community through a variety of channels, including but not limited to, neighborhood investment, volunteerism, education, prevention of crime and youth violence, increased access to healthcare and wellness care, improved options for better food nutrition and security, and raised the awareness of environmental concerns—each with a unique focus on Ward 7 and Ward 8 communities.

r.e.e.l. Distinguished Service awardees exemplify the following characteristics:

• Engage in the creation, organization, and/or mobilization of volunteers, groups and resources that are involved in projects benefiting the greater community.
• Demonstrate sustained commitment to meeting community needs.
• Utilize unique and creative approaches to meeting needs.
• Develop and foster the virtues and skills of civic engagement and social responsibility.

Honorees:
• Ward 7 Individual/Organization/Business
• Ward 8 Individual/Organization/Business
• Butch Hopkins Memorial Service Award: East of the River Individual/Organization/Business

Special Honors:

• Board of Directors’ Award
• Presidential Awards



Guidelines for Nominations

Nominations for the 2014 r.e.e.l Distinguished Service Awards can be submitted by a nominee, supervisor or peer without regard to the nominee’s membership status in r.e.e.l. All finalists will be notified in advance, and winners will be announced at the awards program taking place during the 2014 REEL Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014.

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. The due date is Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014 at Noon to the REEL Nomination Page. If necessary, you can also submit nomination materials to awards@reeldc.org with “Service Award Nomination” in the e-mail subject line.

The nominee’s application shall include:

• NOMINATION COVER PAGE: a single page that provides the name, title, address, phone number and email address of nominee; nominator information (name, title, address, phone number and email address); and specific wording for award citation
• INFORMATION PAGE: a single page containing the nominee's background information including nominee’s education and experience and, if applicable, should be signed by appropriate individual(s) having administrative oversight of the nominee.
• OTHER INFORMATION: additional information to be used against the evaluation criteria (below) can be included not exceeding the six page limit and electronic submission requirements. This section should include endorsement statements.

Each nominee’s application will be thoroughly evaluated by a panel of experts chosen from the r.e.e.l. membership by the Board of Directors. The panel will use an approved process to determine the winner in each category and submit their selections to the Board of Directors for review and processing. The Board of Directors will approve the panel’s recommendations, barring a breakdown in the approved judging policies and procedure. The panel will evaluate each nominee based on the following criteria:

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