Roger Petersen, Awards Committee Chair

Once again and it is time for us to start preparing for our annual CCB awards. The organization presents several awards to deserving individuals and groups
at our annual conference and convention. Some are presented by the Awards Committee and some are given by others. Besides the Committee's awards, the Publications
and Membership Committees give awards. The former presents writing awards usually based on articles written for the BC and chosen by the committee. The
only part the general membership might play in this process would be to recommend an article for consideration that appeared in some other publication.

The latter presents the Chapter of the Year Award to the chapter that conducts a group effort to make a significant difference in the life of an individual
and/or the community. Letters from chapters for projects developed and completed in 2014 should be submitted to the CCB state office by February 15, 2015.
In the letter, please explain the group chapter project, who benefited from the effort, and the time-line of the project. In 2014, this award went to the
Humboldt Chapter for its work on bringing audio-described movies to Eureka.

Win one of the CCB Membership Incentive Awards for 2014! Awards will be presented to the chapter with the largest number of new members, and the other
to the chapter with the largest membership percentage increase.

Here's how you play a part in the presentation of awards by the Awards Committee. We need you to submit letters to the CCB office nominating people for
these awards, so we will be presenting them to the most deserving people possible. These letters are due by February 15, 2015.

Here are the awards and their criteria.

The CCB Hall of Fame: up to five persons per year who have made significant contributions and sustained effort to advance the goals of CCB over a period
of years may be nominated.

The CCB Community Service Award: presented annually to a blind or visually-impaired individual who, through his or her association and activities, has
demonstrated integration into and interaction with the life of the community.

The CCB Distinguished Service Award: given periodically to an outstanding blind or visually-impaired person who has contributed significantly to the betterment
of blind people in general. The recipient of this award need not be a member of CCB.

The CCB Legislator of the Year Award: bestowed periodically on a state or federal legislator who has introduced and successfully directed enactment of
legislation on behalf of persons who are blind or visually-impaired.

The Humanitarian Award: granted to an individual or organization that has assisted blind people in general or CCB and its affiliates in particular to an
extraordinary degree. The recipient may be blind or sighted.

The CCB Merit Award (Formerly the Certificate of Merit): given to any individual who provides outstanding volunteer service to CCB, its chapters or affiliates.

In closing, let me thank the members of the Awards Committee who have made the difficult decisions we must make: Susan Hyatt, Mary Beth Randall, and Michael
Williams.