The Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards of Forsyth County is sponsored by the Winston-Salem Journal, HandsOn Northwest North Carolina (NWNC), United Way of Forsyth County, and Salem College.

HOW TO NOMINATE: Go to www.journalnow.com/volunteers and fill out the entire submission form. Please note that you cannot save and exit the form. We recommend that you save your answers in a separate Word Document, and complete this online submission form in its entirety before submitting so you do not lose your saved work.

Nominations are due by 11:59pm on Sunday, February 26, 2017 EST.

Please read through the Nomination Guidelines before submitting a nomination:

ELIGIBILITY

1. Nominees must have been engaged in volunteer activities for a minimum of one year in North Carolina and benefited a community or communities in the state in a substantial, important or unique way.  Volunteer service performed outside the state or out of the country will not be considered. 
2. Students receiving course credits for their volunteer activities are ineligible unless the nomination is based on volunteer service that extends beyond the course requirements, in which case it must be clearly indicated in the nomination statement.
3. National Service volunteers must be nominated for service above and beyond that which is required of them in their national service program.  Volunteer time recorded in a national service program will not be eligible. 
4. Previous award recipients from within the past 10 years are ineligible.
5. Nominees are ineligible if they receive compensation for their service. 
6. Nomination cannot be based upon court-mandated community service.
7. Nomination cannot be based upon serving as a “loaned executive.”
8. Self-nominations are not allowable.
9. Family members may not nominate another family member for an award or serve as a reference for their nomination. 
10. Group/team and corporate volunteerism nominations must be made by those external to the group/team or corporation/business.  
11. All nomination submission requirements listed below must be met.
12. Director of Volunteers who are paid for their service must be nominated in the non-volunteer service category.

IMPORTANT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. All nominations must be submitted on the 2017 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award nomination form.
2. Only fully completed nomination forms will be accepted.  Sections 1-6 must be completed. Incomplete nominations will not be considered for the award.
3. Two references are required for each nomination.
4. The nomination form must be signed and dated by the nominator and both references.  Forms without these required three dated signatures will be considered as incomplete and not considered for the award.
5. The nominator may not serve as one of the references.
6. The system will not allow you to submit additional attachments or support documentation (photographs, news articles, etc.) and these items cannot be submitted separately in some other way. Award selection will be based solely on information provided on nomination forms. 
7. Only two nominations will be accepted from one organization or nominator; please limit yourself to nominating one group/company team and one individual, regardless of category. You cannot nominate yourself or a group that you are a part of.

AWARD SELECTION

• Award selections are based on the nominee’s volunteer efforts and commitment of time, accomplishments, community impact and enhancement of the lives of others, as described on the nomination form.
• Nominations are received and evaluated at the county level. The county may submit up to ten nominations to the Commission to be considered for the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award.  One of the nominees may be recommended as a nominee for the Medallion Award, the state’s highest level of volunteer recognition.  The county may also recommend one non-volunteer (paid) Director of Volunteers to be considered for a Medallion Award. 
• The Commission will select award recipients based on merit and eligibility. Recipients are selected without regard to race, religion, gender, national origin, or physical/mental disability.
• Nominations for the Governor’s Medallion Award are reviewed and evaluated by a statewide review panel that determines the recipients of the award.  The award is given to the state’s top 20 volunteers and one paid Director of Volunteers.  
• All nominators will be notified if their nominee won by mid-March.

TIPS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE AWARD NOMINATION

• Nominators play a crucial role in the nominating process. Nominations that are well-written and thorough may be more likely to result in the volunteer receiving an award.
• Carefully review the eligibility requirements to ensure the nominee is eligible to receive the award. Nominations are disqualified if the volunteer doesn’t meet the eligibility requirements.
• Select the volunteer service categories that best describe the person you are nominating. If the volunteer meets the criteria for multiple categories, please select all categories that apply to their service.
• Adequately complete the nomination form, especially sections that include a “Completion Required” statement. Nominations are eliminated if required and critical information has not been submitted.
• Remember, all nominations are evaluated and scored by multiple reviewers and may not know anything about the nominee, other than what is on the nomination form. The more thorough and well-written the nomination is, the better.
• Reviewers rely on the nominator’s descriptive words and examples to assist them in determining and understanding the volunteer’s attributes and contributions.
• Be concise and direct. Write the nomination from the heart, but provide information that is clear, concise and easy to read. Reinforce what you are saying with observations, facts and concrete examples. Too much information can be as harmful as too little information.
• Include numbers. How many hours has the volunteer donated? How much money did they raise? How many students were helped? How many meals were delivered? Statistics can help reinforce the accomplishments of the nominee.
• Be sure the information provided on the nomination form is relevant to the section of the form in which it is provided. If reviewers have to search for required information because it is in the wrong section or not relevant to the section it is in, they will have a more difficult time evaluating the nominee’s accomplishments.
• All volunteers are worthy of recognition, but your nominee is being nominated because they are outstanding and their exemplary service distinguishes their efforts from the efforts of other volunteers. The information provided on the nomination should reflect this and help the reviewers understand what stands out about your nominee that makes them outstanding.
• All volunteers are nice and wonderful people who give of their time to help others. Recipients of this award should possess unique characteristics that elevate their stature as a volunteer. Words that create a unique picture of your nominee and their characteristics are helpful.
• Be sure to describe why your nominee’s commitment, accomplishments and special skills/qualities are distinguishable over other volunteers. Share what stands out and what truly makes this volunteer outstanding and worthy of the award.
• Reviewers will want to have a clear understanding of the nominee’s outstanding volunteer accomplishments that have made an impact in helping to meet critical needs in their community. Remember to provide specific details and cite examples in the appropriate section of the nomination form.
• Be sure to proofread your statements. Grammatical errors and misspelled words detract from the quality of the nomination.
• Be sure the completed nomination form is submitted by the deadline (Sunday, February 26, 2017.)
• Be sure the nomination identifies a nominator and two references. The nominator cannot serve as one of the references. 

Entries that are incomplete, illegible or damaged are void and will not be accepted or eligible. Only legible and complete entry forms will be accepted and eligible. Sponsor is not responsible for misdirected, lost, late or damaged entries. All entries become the property of the Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.  In case of a dispute over the identity of an entrant, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS
Approved nominations will be automatically entered into the People’s Choice Awards Contest. The public may register and vote for their favorite entry on www.journalnow.com/volunteers. Voting will begin Sunday, March 19, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. and will end on Sunday, April 9, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. The entry with the most votes will be the winner.  The winner will be presented at the Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards Breakfast event on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at Salem College.  

DISCLAIMER:
By entering this contest, the winner assumes all liability for any injury or damages caused or claimed to be caused by participation in the contest and/or the acceptance and/or use of any prize and releases the Sponsor and each of its respective owners, affiliates, officers, directors and employees, from any such liability. Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use winner’s name and address for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without compensation. Winner is responsible for payment of all taxes associated with receipt of any prize.

MISCELLANEOUS:
Sponsor reserves the right to withdraw the Entrants agree to abide by these Official Rules and by the decisions of the judges, whose decisions are final. Failure to comply with these rules may result in disqualification from this promotion. Sponsor reserves the right to permanently disqualify from this promotion any person it believes has violated these rules.

If for any reason the contest is not capable of being conducted as planned due to any cause beyond the control of Sponsor, including but not limited to any event or cause which corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the promotion, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the contest and disqualify any individual who may have caused any such problem. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any theft or destruction, unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction, unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries. Sponsor is not responsible for any problem or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or provider, computer equipment, software, failure of any entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or delays, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in this contest. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY ANY PERSON TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

If a dispute arises regarding who submitted an entry, the entry will be deemed submitted by the person in whose name the entry was made.

By entering this contest, each entrant agrees that (i) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with this contest, the drawing or the prize awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (ii) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs, directly or indirectly associated with entering this contest, but in no event will attorneys' fees be awarded or recoverable; and (iii) under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and entrant hereby knowingly and expressly waives all rights to, any damages other than actual out-of-pocket expenses.

The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these rules shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein. IN NO EVENT SHALL SPONSOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, EVEN IF IT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE DAMAGES. IN ANY EVENT THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF SPONSOR TO ANY PERSON DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATING TO THIS CONTEST, PROMOTION OR THE AWARD, USE OR ENJOYMENT OF ANY PRIZE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE SUM OF $10.00.

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