Wisconsin 4-H Foundation Awards
Salute to Excellence
Salute to Excellence serves as an opportunity to acknowledge our volunteers’ unwavering dedication to 4-H Youth Development.
Wisconsin has many outstanding volunteers: Here is your opportunity to nominate someone from your county to be considered for the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award or the Volunteer of the Year Award.
Each year, state 4-H programs are invited to nominate two outstanding individual volunteers–one in each of two categories:
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- The Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award is given to an individual who has spent 10 or more years volunteering for 4-H.
- The Volunteer of the Year Award is given to an individual who has volunteered for 4-H less than 10 years.
I. Selection Criteria
- The Volunteer of the Year Award is for individuals who have served as 4-H volunteers for less than 10 years at the local, county, district or state level.
- The Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award is for individuals who have served 10 or more years at the local, county, district or state level.
- A completed nomination will consist of an overview resume of the applicant’s 4-H and relevant community volunteer experiences and three (3) letters of recommendation. A template for the resume is provided and should be followed in developing the nomination packet. A packet missing any of the four components is eliminated (resume & 3 letters).
- Nominations/letters of recommendation must address the following selection criteria:
- Positive impact the nominee has had on the lives of 4-H youth
- Demonstrated ability to work with young people in a way that promotes youth empowerment, decision-making, problem-solving, meeting challenges, mastery.
- Nominee’s dedication to youth/adult partnerships and mentor-learner relationships
- Nominee’s innovative approaches to engaging youth and increasing diversity among participants
- Dedication to a safe and inclusive environment
- Nominee’s innovative approaches to performing volunteer service, recruitment of additional volunteers, partnering with other youth serving agencies, fundraising, providing other resources for 4-H, advocacy for 4-H, etc.
- Nominee’s innovative approaches to performing volunteer service
- Evidence of professional attitude, character, and morals
- Personal growth from being a 4-H volunteer (that you have observed)
Letter writers should be aware of the scorecard and address the relevant points in developing their documents.
II. Application Guidelines
- Application materials must be submitted by a nominator to the nominee’s State 4-H Office. Each State 4-H Office will select one nominee for each category from its pool of nominations, to be submitted for the regional award. Two recipients will be selected from each region; one for each category mentioned above. From the eight regional winners, one person from each category will be named the national award recipient.
- Each completed application must be accompanied by three letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should be written by individual who can best describe the nominee’s qualifications such as 4-H youth participant, another volunteer, 4-H staff person. Letters should be no longer than 2 pages in length, in 12-point font with 1-inch margins.
- A resume of 4-H experiences and community service must be included and should follow the template provided. It is limited to 2 pages in length, in 12-font with a one-inch margin.
III. Award Information
Nominations are due no later than September 1, 2017 to:
Laura Gundlach
Attn: Salute to Excellence
610 Langdon St, Room 436
Madison, WI 53703
Regional winners will be announced by February 1, 2018.
Each regional winner will receive a personalized plaque, and $200 cash award to be donated to a local 4-H program of their choice. National winners will be announced in April 2018, National Volunteer Month and will be recognized on Friday of National 4-H Week during the 2018 Heritage Luncheon held at the National 4-H Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Each will receive a plaque and $1,000 cash award to be donated to a local 4-H program of their choice.
All of the information you need for the 2018 Salute to Excellence Awards will soon be available at:
http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/grants-awards/opportunities/salute-to-excellence-awards/
Hall of Fame
The Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame was established to recognize 4-H volunteers, financial supporters, staff and pioneers who made major contributions to 4-H at the local, state and national levels. The honorees represent 4-H in the broadest sense.
Since 1914, Wisconsin 4-H has helped youth grow the leadership, critical thinking and communications skills necessary to be successful in a constantly changing world. To learn more about the individuals who supported 100 years of growing Wisconsin leaders, visit the Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame website.
Wisconsin 4-H Foundation Awards
