CALS Awards for Excellence – Call for Nominations

Staff members holding award plaques.

The NC State Awards for Excellence commence each year when all colleges and business units across campus select employees to be recognized as Awards for Excellence recipients.

In addition to receiving eight hours of paid time off and a $250 cash-award from the respective college or business unit, recipients are also honored at the NC State University Awards for Excellence ceremony, where up to twelve individuals receive special distinction as recipients of the NC State University Awards for Excellence.

And due to the Governor’s Awards for Excellence program accelerating their deadline for our deadline for submissions is Monday, January 29, 2018.

Learn more here: https://benefits.hr.ncsu.edu/awards-for-excellence/

Still having doubts? Talk to someone that nominated a co-worker last year. Or better yet, talk to one of our five 2017 winners, Alease Hancock, Tammy Kelly, Tom Hoyt, Kendall Del Rio, or Labin Woodlief . We had 2 of our winners make it to the University level, Tammy Kelly and Labin Woodlief and received $1000. Awesome job everyone!

Here are some tips on nominating:
So, for our 6 categories:

IF you know someone that fits: On-Campus Supervisory/Administrative; On-Campus Secretarial/Clerical; On-Campus Technical; Off- Campus Secretarial/Clerical; Off-Campus Technical/Supervisory; and/or EPA? If you are on campus and know someone off-campus, you CAN nominate them. Vice Versa.

Did that person meet one of the University’s 7 categories of: Customer Service; Efficiency and Innovation; Human Relations; Outstanding State Government Service; Public Service; Safety and Heroism; or Spirit of North Carolina?

*Be creative when writing your ‘Letter/Reason of/for Nomination’. You don’t need to be a published writer to draft your letter/reason. Make your letters stand out! Give details and specific examples as to why your nomination should win! Make every sentence count!

The selection committee is relying on your words and examples to “see” your nominee’s attributes and contributions. The people on the selection committee may not know anything about your nominee’s job, so detailed information is key!

*Give specific examples – use descriptive language and then give a situation or example that shows why the individual should win the award.

Weak vs Strong Example:

Weak: “She always celebrates diversity.”
Strong: “She is responsible for organizing the school’s first multicultural training, an annual Cinco de Mayo celebration and organized assemblies featuring speakers of different cultural backgrounds.”

*Avoid sweeping generalities; (i.e. “He’s a hard worker,” or “She goes above and beyond her job duties”.) Make every sentence count! Successful nominations have enough details to make the case for the nominee’s achievement.

*Proofread! Grammatical errors, typos, and misspelled words detract from the quality of the the nomination. Have someone review your packet before you submit it, they may find errors or give feedback on how to make it better.

*Stand out from the crowd! Remember, our selection committee is reading up to 30 other nominations! How can you present your nomination in a way that sets it apart from others? You are the salesman!

These tips cannot guarantee your nominee will be selected, but they can help the selection committee choose the best nominees.