Tips for Hagie Heritage Awrd nomination letters

This article was updated in May 2012.

To nominate someone for the Hagie Heritage Award, send two nomination letters (maximum of five) by June 15, 2012. Letters may be sent via e-mail or snail mail. They do not need to arrive in one package. However, if sending items separately, be sure to note who else will be writing additional letter(s).

Nominations are judged according to four criteria: personal commitment, scope and longevity of effort, effectiveness of effort, and helps model INHF's mission.

When writing your letter, be sure your terminology is clear. For example, not everyone who will be determining the winner or writing publicity for the award will know what a "watershed inspector" or a "liaison officer" is and whether it is a voluntary position or not. Also, be sure that any acronyms are spelled out and explained, if necessary. Along this same line, be sure to make a clear distinction between purely voluntary activities and those activities that are within the person’s profession, but are still over and above the job’s normal duties. If desired, use the list below to make sure your letter contains everything it needs. You can even use it as an outline, if you like. And/or multiple letter writers might want to divide up the list or each focus on different aspects of the person's contributions.

Recommended contents for nomination letters:
Please include the following information when applicable:

1. Nominator's name, address, phone number

2. Name, address, phone number, occupation of your nominee

3. Nominee’s outstanding personal conservation/environmental activities (ex: backyard prairie planting, soil conservation practices on farm, etc.). NOTE: Even if your nomination is based on one key conservation accomplishment, you'll strengthen the nomination by showing the nominee's long-term and wide-ranging involvement in other conservation activities as well.

4. Nominee’s outstanding personal conservation and environmental activities with organizations (nonprofit, private, public agency, etc.). If nominee is considered a professional in the environmental/conservation field, state how he/she has gone beyond expectations and performed above and beyond the job description.

5. How the nominee has encouraged others in natural resources protection (ex: presentations, work with children, tours, teaching informally, "living example," etc.)

6. When possible, indicate how long the nominee has been involved in key activities (ex: "past 12 years", "from 1982 to 1989", "beginning as a young adult in the 1940’s until now.") Long term involvement is a big plus.

7. When possible, try to give specifics of the nominee’s work (ex: "8,000 trees planted", "spoke to more than 700 people in the course of 25 presentations").

8. Any other information you would like to share: past awards, etc.

Note: The most successful nomination letters tend to have the most details!