B. Virginia Section Awards


The following pages contain descriptions and guidelines of Awards and Citations for recognition of achievement authorized by the Virginia Section. 

Best Paper of the Year Award

This award was originally established in 1979 to present an appropriate plaque to recognize the best paper presented at the annual meeting of the Virginia Section. The award was changed over the years, most recently in 1997, when the Trustees eliminated all Best Paper Awards except for the Student Category.

The recipient shall be selected from those giving papers at the annual meeting of the Virginia Section. Written papers are not a prerequisite for the award.

The following is a description of the general guidelines for the award:

a. Name of the Award:

Best Paper of the Year Award - Student Category

b. Nature of the Award:

The award shall consist of an appropriate plaque designating the award name, category, subject title, recipient's name, and date of the award.

c. Qualifications:

The recipient of the award must have given his/her paper at the Virginia Section's annual meeting. The recipient does not have to be a member of AWWA. The recipient must have been a student at a Virginia college or university at the time that the work was completed and must be presenting the paper at the first opportunity for presenting the paper following completion of the work.

d. Selection Procedures:

1. The Student Activities Committee Chair shall be responsible for providing all necessary paper abstracts and evaluation forms to the presiding officer at the student session.

2. The Student Activities Committee Chair shall be responsible for verifying and tabulating all evaluation sheets submitted. The Student Activities Committee Chair shall submit the name of the highest evaluation with recommendation to the Board at the annual meeting. The trustees shall vote on the recommendation at that meeting, and the Secretary shall notify the recipient as soon thereafter as possible.

3. No announcement of the winner shall be made until the Virginia Section Board of Trustees have approved the selection.

e. Award Presentation:

The award shall be presented by the Section Chair during the next annual Virginia Section meeting after the paper presentation. The Virginia Section Chair shall be assisted by the Student Activities Committee Chair.

f. Evaluations:

At least three independent evaluations should be made for each paper. The judges shall be selected as follows:

A group of three judges shall be appointed each year by the Chair of the Student Activities Committee. Those individuals, as best as is possible, should be technical individuals, familiar with the topics being discussed in the papers on the Student Program, and therefore qualified in their own rights as experts in the waterworks field. The Chair of the committee should not serve as one of the judges unless it is impossible to identify three qualified individuals at the annual meeting who will agree to serve as judges. Where possible, judges should be selected such that impartiality to the schools from which the various student presenters are affiliated is achieved.

The judges should consider both the technical merits of the paper and the presentation itself. The manner in which the paper is given should indicate that the student was knowledgeable about the subject and was well prepared. The audiovisual aids should be of good quality. Questions from the audience should be dealt with in a competent manner. The presentation should be within the time allotted.

g. Evaluation Forms:

The evaluators will tabulate and sign their forms before presenting them to the presiding officer by the end of the session. The presiding officer shall acknowledge receipt by countersigning the forms in the appropriate place and forwarding the evaluation forms to the Student Activities Committee Chair who is responsible for the final tabulation of paper evaluation, ranking of papers and recommendation of awards to the Board.

Herbert W. Evans, Jr., Distinguished Service Award

This award, established in 1966 as the Distinguished Service Award, is given by the Section to acknowledge the demonstrated activity of a member of AWWA who, within the concepts of the Constitution, By-Laws and Code-of-Practice of the Association, has contributed outstanding participation, counsel and progressiveness to the Virginia Section. The Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair, AWWA Director and Trustees (4) of the Section comprise the selection committee for this award.   

The recipient cannot be a current member of the Section Board of Trustees except for the long-term members of the Board, i.e., the Secretary and the Treasurer. In 1997, the Board of Trustees renamed the award in memory of a devoted AWWA member, Herbert W. Evans, Jr., who died in 1996. The following is a description of the general guidelines:

a. Name of the Award:

Herbert W. Evans, Jr., Distinguished Service Award

b. Nature of Award:

The award shall consist of a suitable scroll designating the award name, achievement, recipient's name, date and signed by the Section Chair, AWWA Director, and Secretary.

c. Purpose of Award:

To acknowledge the demonstrated activity of a member of the American Water Works Association who, within the concepts of the Constitution, By-Laws, and Code-of-Practice of the Association, has contributed outstanding participation, counsel, and progressiveness to the Virginia Section.

d. Qualifications of Recipient:

1. Active participation within the Virginia Section for a period of not less than ten (10) years.

2. Participation and activity within the Virginia Section so deemed by the award committee as sufficiently outstanding to meet the "purpose" of the award.

3. The recipient may not be a current member of the Section Board of Trustees, excepting he or she may be a long-term member of the Board, i.e., Secretary or Treasurer.

e. Selection Procedures:

1. Selection of not more than one recipient annually may be made.

2. The award committee may, after due consideration, omit an award presentation in any calendar year.

3. Any member of the Virginia Section may propose one or more candidates to any officer of the Section. Such proposals shall be in writing and shall indicate the candidate's qualifications, and must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting of the Section.

g. Presentation:

The award shall be presented by the Section Chair at the banquet during the Section's annual meeting.

Heroism Award

The Heroism Award shall constitute official recognition of any one of the following:

•  An act of rescue on the part of an employee in the water utility profession where the employee places himself/herself at great personal risk;

•  Water utility personnel who help other utilities recover from disasters; and

•  Water utility personnel who are called to active military duty during national emergencies.

To make a nomination for this award, contact the Heroism Sub-Committee Chair.  

Howard A. Johnson 50 -Year Service Award

This award was established to recognize those individuals who have completed 50 years of membership in the VA Section, AWWA.

a. Name of Award:

Howard A. Johnson 50 Year Service Award

b. Nature of Award:

 The award shall consist of a suitable certificate with the recipient's name and service  outlined.

c. Qualification of Recipient:

Any AWWA Member also maintaining 50 years of association with the Virginia Section is eligible to receive this award. Each member eligible for this award will be considered on their outstanding contributions and memorial accomplishments befitting the Virginia Section of AWWA, the water works profession, and the people we serve.

d. Selection Procedure:

The Howard A. Johnson 50-Year Service Award selection will be made by the Virginia Section Secretary based on the membership records of AWWA.

e. Presentation:

The award shall be presented by the Chair at the annual VA Section Luncheon.

Membership Award

This award was established to recognize the interest and demonstrated activity of a member of the Virginia Section, AWWA, who has contributed to the progress of the Section by securing the greatest number of new members in the parent association during a one-year period, and to honor the memory of one deceased member of the Virginia Section who made outstanding and distinguished contributions to the Section. The member to whom the award is dedicated may vary from year to year.

a. Name of Award:

Membership Award

b. Nature of Award:

The award shall consist of a suitable scroll designating the award name, purpose, period, recipient's name, date, name of person to whom dedicated, and contain the signatures of the Section Chair, Secretary, and Director.

c. Qualification of Recipient:

The recipient shall be the member of the Virginia Section who has secured the greatest number of new members in the parent association during a one-year period.

d. Selection Procedure:

Selection will be made on the basis of the number of points accumulated during the year ending July 1 preceding the date of the annual meeting of the Virginia Section, AWWA. Points will be accumulated on the basis of four for an Active Member, two for an Affiliate Member, and one for each seven dollars worth of dues for Utility and other types of memberships. Student membership will not be included. There will be one recipient annually.

e. Award Committee:

The award committee shall consist of those members of the Section's Board of Trustees bearing official designation as follows: Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, AWWA Director, and Trustees (4).

f. Presentation:

The award shall be presented by the Chair at the banquet during the Virginia Section annual meeting.

The Edward H. Ruehl Operator Of The Year Award

This award, established in 1977, may be given annually to a licensed water works operator in the State of Virginia who has contributed outstanding service to the promotion of the operator programs. The Awards Committee is made up of the Trustees of the Section. The following is a description of the general guidelines for this award:

a. Name of Award:

Edward H. Ruehl Operator of the Year Award.

b. Nature of Award:

The award shall consist of an appropriate plaque designating the award name, recipient's name, and date of award.

c. Qualifications of Recipient:

The recipient must be a certified water works operator in the Commonwealth of Virginia and be employed as a water works operator for a Virginia water utility. The nominee must meet one or more of the criteria listed on the nominee application. He must be a member (individual or employed by a corporate/utility member) of the VA Section, and cannot be a current member of the Board of Trustees of the Section or current Chair of the Plant Operations Committee. The recipient must also have been licensed as a water works operator for at least a three-year period.

d. Selection Procedure:

All nominations shall be in writing and shall indicate the candidate's qualifications and must be submitted to the Section Administrator on or before the first of April of each year. The Section Administrator will forward all nominations to the Plant Operations Committee for review and recommendations. The Plant Operations Committee will select from a pool of candidates for recommendation to Board which approves the nominee. Only one selection for an award will be made annually, and then only if a qualified recipient exists. Candidates maybe nominated by one or more of the following individuals, organizations, or groups:

1. A member of the Virginia Section, AWWA

2. A fellow official or employee of a water utility within Virginia

3. The Plant Operations Committee

e. Award Committee:

The Award Committee shall consist of those members of the Section's Board of Trustee bearing official designation as follows: Chair, Vice-Chair, AWWA Director, Trustees (4), Past Chair, Secretary and Treasure.

f. Presentation:

The Award shall be presented the Section Chair at the Annual Meeting.

Certificates of Appreciation

In addition to the various awards described in the preceding pages, the Virginia Section of AWWA gives Certificates of Appreciation to those individuals who do single things for the Virginia Section, such as making a keynote address, giving a special presentation, or serving in a special capacity for the Section. The issuance of these certificates is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees.

Student Water Challenge

The VA AWWA Student Water Challenge was first held at the VA AWWA Annual Meeting in 2004, and occurs each fall at the VA AWWA Annual Meeting or at Water JAMs.  This competition for engineering and science majors from Virginia Universities is sponsored by the Student Activities Committee, a joint committee of the VA AWWA and the Virginia Water Environment Association ( VWEA ), and focuses on using a combination of engineering and science to address a real world water quality issue.

Student teams from competing schools are given a water quality/water treatment problem on morning of the competition day and are permitted approximately eight hours to develop a solution and presentation.  The teams may utilize any written resource necessary, including reference manuals and the internet.  Beginning mid afternoon, the student teams present their solution as a PowerPoint presentation.  Each team is given 20 minutes for a presentation followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers from a panel of judges.  The winning team receives a trophy and a $1000 first place prize.  The second place team receives $200.

Employer Support Recognition Award

This award is given by the Section to recognize employers that support their employees' growth and development process through continuing education, involvement in AWWA and Virginia Section AWWA activities, and participation in VA AWWA committees.  

a. Name of the Award:

VA AWWA Employer Support Recognition Award

b. Nature of Award:

The award shall consist of a suitable plaque designating the award name, the recipient's name, and a brief description of the achievements of the recipient. It shall be dated and signed by the Section Chair.

c. Purpose of Award:

To recognize employers that support their employees' growth and development process through continuing education, involvement in AWWA and Virginia Section AWWA activities, and participation in VA AWWA committees.

d. Qualifications of Recipient:

1. Member of the Virginia Section AWWA

2. Shows outstanding support of employees as noted under “Purpose of Award.”

e. Selection Procedures:

1. The Membership Committee shall comprise the selection committee for this recognition.

2. All nominations shall be forwarded to the Chair of the Membership Committee by July 1 of each year.

3. The number of recipients per year is at the discretion of the selection committee.

4. The selection committee may, after due consideration, omit a presentation in any calendar year.

5. Any member of the Virginia Section or any employee of an organization or department, may make a nomination for this award. Such nominations shall be made on the prescribed Nomination Form.

f. Presentation:

  The Recognition shall be made by the Section Chair during the VA AWWA Annual Meeting.