Awards Preparation Information

District Laurels

Laurels are a non-competitive awards that can be given to any qualified District or individual club member. These awards encourage and recognize outstanding accomplishments that are "above and beyond" the regular duties of office or committee. Each District may introduce its own special "Laurels" as a way to say "Thank you". Each District will set its own deadline date and indicate which District Chairman should receive application forms. Laurels will be presented to the selected recipients and clubs at the Annual District Meetings held in the fall of each year.

There are no limitations on the number of Laurels that may be given to a club by the District. Be selective in your choice of nominees. Consider persons who have never been recognized and honored for superior service to club, District or Federation. The District Awards Committee will review applications and determine whether the activity or project merits a Laurel.

Do not make an application for an individual who has received a Laurel for the same project before a three (3) year period lapses. If, however, a nominee qualifies for a Laurel for an entirely different project or activity than she had previously qualified, she may be nominated again for one of the above categories. Consider persons who have never been recognized and honored for superior service to their Club, District, or Federation. The Awards Committee reads and critiques all applications, and determines whether the activity or project merits a Laurel.

Applying for District Laurels

Use a separate sheet of paper for each application and include the following:

1. Club Name

2. Date of Application

3. Category of award (see above listed categories under A and B)

4. Name and address of Nominee

5. Name, address, and phone number of Club President

6. Name, address, and phone number of the Awards chairman or person submitting the application.

7. Keep application brief, but supply enough information of the nominee's work to justify the application.

Thank you for taking the time to recognize those SPECIAL members.

Members of clubs may be recognized for outstanding activity in the following:

• Club Programming: well balanced, including study and/or activity in all of the following: Horticulture, Artistic Floral Design, Conservation and at least one phase of Civic Activity, e.g. Junior Gardening, Horticulture Therapy, Conservation, Civic Development, etc.
• Conservation
• Civic Development
• Horticulture Therapy (actual work with patients)
• Horticulture Therapy through services, such as beautification of grounds, providing decorations, etc.
• Horticulture-honor the outstanding horticulturist
• Junior, Intermediate or High School Gardening
• Landscape Design
• Scholarship
• World Gardening
• Any other GCFP or National Objective such as promotion of special types of horticulture, specialty gardens, educational workshops, public relations.

District Laurels Certificate:

Please email the GCFP Hq Secretary for a certificate.

Awards Manual And Application Forms

Each Federated club in the state receives an Awards Manual listing the National, CAR and GCFP Awards for which clubs may apply. All applications for awards must be prepared according to the requirements outlined in the Red Awards Manual. Follow the directions outlined in preparing and mailing your BOE, Publication, Video, etc. Some awards have special requirements which are outlined in the description of that award. Note that all BOE do not go to the State Awards Chairman. Also note that some awards have special deadline dates which are outlined in the description of the website. At the time our manual went to press, CAR had not completed their award changes. For the complete listing of CAR Awards, please check their website: www.centralatlanticregion.org.

NGC, Inc. has made numerous changes to the Awards process.

This is a WORD file. You may use up to 3 page of information. (That's 3 fronts or if you use two-sided printing, a front, back then a front.)

This is the NEW NGC Awards List for 2011-2013:

NGC Awards List 2011-2013

Contact the awards chairman with questions concerning information in the GCFP Awards Manual.

Angela McDonnell

GCFP, Awards Chairman, 2011-2013

All of the Awards Forms are available on the FORMS page.

All awards except Flower Shows will use the limited NGC Awards application, which can be done online if you choose.

Check your directory issue of THE KEYSTONE GARDENER for mail, phone and address information.

CLUB YEAR BOOK AWARD

2011-2012

 There is a new version of the NGC Award Application Form for 2011. Pease make sure to use the current National Award Form (NGC 2011-2013), which is on the National Website. Just access the NGC Website and click on Awards and then click on Forms. The GCFP Award Application revised on 6/09 is the one to use.

The Red Awards Manual was updated after April 2011 and all the current information is in the fall issue of the National Gardener. The same updated information is on the National Website and may be downloaded.

When applying for the Club Yearbook Award, send one Yearbook, one State Award Application, and two National Award Applications, before December 1, 2011 to the following address:

Gloria Lepiane

Club Yearbook Chairman

413 Old Clairton Rd

Jefferson Hills, PA 15025-3033

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Email at Gloria Lepiane or phone: 412.653.3632

Looking forward to receiving all your interesting yearbooks and perhaps your club will win an award!!!

Operation Wildflower Awards

OPERATION WILDFLOWER AWARDS are listed with the other National Awards and described in the fall edition of The National Gardener Magazine in the odd years. Awards of up to $1,000.00 may be given in several categories for each award.

A--Single member garden club: i small ii medium iii large

B--Group of member clubs (not Award #74)

D--State garden clubs: i small ii medium iii large

Award #71 - Roadside Award may be given for notable environmental preservation and enhancement of roadsides and rest areas using wildflowers and native plants. Project may be sited on rural byways, urban highways, roadside rest areas, entrances to towns, medians, etc.

Award #73 - Civic Projects, with Native Plants. This award may be given for establishing wildflower gardens, memorial gardens or restoration of historic gardens, with emphasis on native plant material.

Award #74 - Outdoor Classrooms, Nature Trails may be awarded for establishing outdoor classrooms, nature trails, wildflower walks, etc. with the emphasis on wildflowers and native plants.

Books of Evidence, sent to the NGC Awards Chairman, must include supporting information as applicable: before and after photos, educational value, unique aspects of the project, financial statement, publicity, etc., and must follow the same requirements necessary for NGC Awards. No project may receive the same award for two consecutive years.

In 2006 two single member garden clubs and a state garden club received $1,000.00 awards for their projects, others received $500.00. Applying for these awards is definitely worthwhile! If you are aware of a project that fits Operation Wildflower award or grant requirements, suggest that an application be submitted. Winning $1,000.00 or even $100.00 could make a huge difference to a project.

Please contact me if you need more information. Sue Redden NGC Wildflower Chairman, 16 Appian Way, Barrington, RI 02806-1948 Phone: 401-245-8215.

Plan It--Stage It--Shoot It

FLOWER SHOW ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

reprint from "Keep In Touch"

The planning for a flower show will begin long before the show actually takes place. This article is not going to delve into the process of planning flower show specifically. It is going to deal with three problem areas that arise when judging the Books of Evidence to determine if the show is worthy of a prestigious NGC Award. Those three areas where most clubs fail besides in the wording of the schedule are the actual innovative staging in all divisions of the show and in carrying out the Theme Staging throughout the show. Then if they have accomplished this task the photographer fails to document it. Those photos are as essential to the success of the show as any other part.

Most clubs do reasonably well in using innovative staging in the design division of their show by using pedestals, frames, floor designs, etc. But when you get to the horticulture division of the show you line all of the specimens up in rows, nothing imaginative to the staging of this section. Wake up friends. This division needs diversity also. Use clay pots turned upside down to elevate specimens, raise specimens up on cylinders with tile square tops or some other means of getting some of those specimens up so they can be seen better. Then comes the Special Exhibits Division, this division needs diversity also. Make sure that your exhibitors do something beside use a table with a background. This division needs elevation and imagination also. The key after having completed this task is to photograph it. Documentation for the Book of Evidence is vital to winning an award.

Theme staging is another part of the show that suffers. Just because you use signage at the entrance to the show and make the entrance look really neat doesn’t end your job. There needs to be imagination in signage marking the divisions, sections, and classes of the entire show. Be imaginative and use a little of the entrance imagination throughout the show, then photograph those areas to document how the theme of the show was carried throughout the show. If you start with one color, then continue that color throughout the show. Continuity is the name of this game.

Photographing of a show should be done by more than one person, if possible. Accidents happen to the best of us. The computer crashes before you’ve gotten it backed up. Pictures are lost due to accidentally hitting that delete button or any of several ways that they can be lost, so a second or third person is essential to getting great pictures. Plus not all pictures turn out as well as one might wish even with digital cameras. Before the photographer begins he/she should make a detailed check list of all areas that have to be photographed for the Book of Evidence.

Try photographing immediately following judging and prior to the opening of the show. This will help guarantee having photos that omit people. (Omit people as much as possible.) The list of photographs needed includes all Top Exhibitor Award Winners. (In horticulture they may be grouped on an awards table for ease of photographing and public viewing.) You need photos to show overall shots of the design division, horticulture division and special exhibits division. Have photos showing the innovative staging in design, horticulture, & special exhibits. Don’t forget to document that theme staging; this is vital also.

Jo Krallman, Chairman

NGC Flower Show Achievement Awards