HIP AWARD

The Helen I. Pontius National Award of Merit recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions to Women in Leisure Services and the field of recreation.

PAST HIP AWARD WINNERS

HIP AWARD NOMINATION & AWARD PROCESS

The nomination and award process is comprised of the following steps:

1. Completion of an initial first-round nomination to collect the names of potential candidates for the annual award by June 15 of each year. If you or your nominee are selected by the HIP Award Committee to move forward to the second round, both the nominator (if applicable) and nominee will be notified.
    
2. Completion of a second, full application to confirm and provide evidence demonstrating that the nominee meets the requirements for the HIP Award by July 31 of each year. Nominators (if applicable) will be expected to work with their nominee to complete the full applicable by the deadline. If Nominators are confident that they can complete the full application without the nominee's assistance, they may request that the nomination remain secret until the final selection has been made.
    
3. HIP Award recipient announcements are made in August with the presentation of the award to be made at the annual General Membership Meeting.

If you have any questions in regards to the application process, please contact us.

ELIGIBILITY & QUALIFICATIONS

1. The candidate shall have been a member of WILS for a minimum of 5 years.
    
2. The candidate shall have been a professional in the recreation field for a minimum of 15 years.
    
3. The candidate shall have met a minimum of 5 of the following examples of service or contributions to WILS:
    
   1. Member of a chapter committee (standing and/or ad hoc) three or more years
       
   2. Chair of a chapter committee (standing and/or ad hoc three or more years. Chapter committee chair experience submitted to meet this qualification shall not be concurrent with chapter committee membership submitted for 3.1
       
   3. Officer of a chapter for one or more years
       
   4. Member of a national committee (standing and/or ad hoc) one or more years
       
   5. Chair of a national committee (standing and/or ad hoc) one or more years. National committee chair experiences shall not be concurrent with national committee membership submitted for 3.4
       
   6. Officer of the national board one or more years
       
   7. Introduced new ideas, concepts, or practices with successful and effective results at the chapter and/or national level
       
   8. Authored or co-authored a minimum of one or more articles related to WILS published in handbooks, newspapers, or professional magazines/journals
       
   9. Presented five or more addresses before WILS gatherings and/or groups that benefitted WILS members
       
4. The candidate shall have met a minimum of 3 conditions listed below with emphasis on contributions to recreation-related professional organizations outside of WILS
    
   1. Member and/or chair of five committees at a local, regional, state, or national level of one or more recreation-related professional organizations
       
   2. Officer at the local, regional, state, or national level of a recreation-related professional organization for a minimum of 3 years
       
   3. Presented 10 or more addresses before professional gatherings benefiting the recreation industry.  Addresses shall be separate from any listed to meet qualification 3.9
       
   4. Carried on research which benefited or promoted the recreation industry
       
   5. Authored or co-authored two or more articles in state or national recreation industry-related magazines. Articles shall be separate from any listed to meet qualification 3.8.
       
5. The candidate shall have volunteered time benefiting a humanitarian organization for a minimum of three years. Organizations may include, but are not limited to: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YWCA, AYSO, Special Olympics, a community hospital, or local community non-profit organizations.
    
6. As part of the second round of nominations, the candidate shall have three letters of support for the candidate's nomination (one professional, one community organization, and one personal) submitted on her behalf