John Lechner Award of Excellence

An exquisite sculpture that embodies the essence of accomplishment and serve as a testament to the recipient’s dedication and contributions. Each John Lechner award is accompanied by a personalized inscribed nameplate to honor and preserve the recipient’s name and accomplishment.

The award criteria are divided into the Section Level Award and the Association Award.

• Frequency of the Section Level Award: Annually. Each Section is encouraged to title its award for local significance or can use the (Section Name) John Lechner Award of Excellence.
• Eligibility of the Section Level Award: Must be an AWWA member, or an AWWA individual member working for a SVP company, all SVP members are eligible for this award. The member must be part of the SVP membership category (manufacturer, consultant, distributor, sales, contractors, contract operations of water of utilities and partner agency). They do not have to be part of the Section MAC to be nominated. Previous nominations from any section that did not win the association award can be resubmitted in future years.
• Nomination Deadline for Section Level Award: Each section will establish its own criteria and deadlines for the nominations or submission of entry forms. Deadline to be eligible for the AWWA award is December 15.
• Selection Committee for Section Level Award: It is at the discretion of the section MAC (or in the absence of section MAC) the Section to determine how the winner is selected. After deliberation of applications, the Section shall submit one application to the section director and section staff (if applicable).
• Method of Selecting Award Recipient for Section Level Award: Each year the section MAC or section board or the Section Awards Committee will select a member of their section that has demonstrated exemplary service to the drinking water community and to AWWA’s mission and goals. It will be the responsibility of the Awards committee of the Association MAC to review all section entry forms and determine which applicant has made the most significant contribution to AWWA’s mission and to the water community. The Section winner application should be sent to the MAC Staff Advisor to be submitted for the AWWA Award.
• Presentation of the Section Level Award: The award will be given out at the section’s annual conference. Each section will determine the award type (plaque, trophy, etc.) supplied. The Association MAC encourages sections to honor local winners at its section annual meeting.

• Frequency of the Association Level Award: Annually
• Eligibility for the Association Level Award: AWWA Membership and they must be part of the SVP membership category (manufacturer, consultant, distributor, sales, contractors, contract operations of water of utilities and partner agency).
• Entry Requirements for Association Level Award: Recipients of a section award are automatically eligible for the Association Award.
• Nomination Deadline for Association Level Award: January 31st
• Selection Committee for Association Level Award: The MAC shall use the MAC Awards Committee for the purposes of selecting the Association level award. The Awards Committee shall review all section level entries and select the top candidates. Those candidates will be reviewed by the MAC Executive Committee. In the event of a conflict of interest, it is required that the MAC member recuse themselves from the voting committee. The MAC Executive Committee shall then determine the final Award winner.
• Method of Selecting Award Recipient for Association Level Award: Each year the MAC will select a member from the section winners that have made a significant contribution to the water community and to AWWA’s mission and goals to win the SVP Award of Excellence. It will be the judgment of the Selection committee of the MAC to review all section winners’ applications and determine which applicant has made the most significant contribution to AWWA’s mission and to the water community. Some of the criteria that will be used to judge the nominations are:
  • AWWA Membership, contributions to membership
  • Association AWWA level Involvement
  • Section Involvement
  • Involvement in water related organizations outside of AWWA
• Presentation of the AWWA Level Award: The award will be given out at the Water Industry Lunch by the Association Chair of the Manufacturer/Associates Council. All section awardees will be acknowledged at the luncheon.

Note: The use of the word “Association” in the document refers to AWWA headquarters and the DC office. The use of “AWWA” in the document refers to the Association and the Sections.

The committee reviewing and judging the nominees requires some guidelines in order to honor the most deserving individual with the award. The information below is the general criteria that will be used for judging each candidate. When completing the award application form, please included detailed information on the categories shown below. Judging is generally based on the number of different activities, the duration of the activities and whether the candidate held levels of high position. Providing as much detail to the categories below will ensure that the candidate will be most accurately evaluated.

Overall

• AWWA Membership: please list membership dates
• Serving as an AWWA liaison to outside organizations: please list organizations and dates
• Membership recruiting accomplishments: please list key accomplishments

AWWA Association Level

• Current participation in a Council or Committee (other than MAC): please list, note dates and if held Chair or Vice-Chair positions
• Past participation in Council or Committee (may include MAC): please list, note dates and if held Chair or Vice-Chair positions
• Service as an Officer (past or present): please list and note dates

Section Level

• Service as a Section Officer (past or present): please list and note dates
• Current participation in a Section Council or Committee (other than Section MAC): please list, note dates and if held Chair or Vice-Chair positions
• Past participation in a Section Council or Committee (other than Section MAC): please list, note dates and if held Chair or Vice-Chair positions
• Past participation in a Section MAC: please note dates and if held Chair or Vice-Chair positions

Other Water Industry Related Programs

• Participation in WFP program
• Participation in other associations: please list, include any leadership positions held
• Other water industry related programs: please list

Discretionary

List any other activities or participation not captured above that supports a candidates qualification for the John Lechner Award.