James T. DeCrescenzo Distinguished Service Award Criteria and Procedure

Criteria
1. The nominee, living or deceased, shall have been a member of PCRA for not less than 15 years.
2. The nominee shall have made substantial contributions to promote and/or sustain the profession(s) of stenographic reporting, such as, the nominee shall have:
     a. been a seminar presenter for PCRA
     b. authored articles for the Outline
     c. served on the PCRA Board of Directors and/or PCRA committees
     d. participated in legislative endeavors on behalf of the stenographic profession(s)
     e. made efforts to increase student enrollment in court reporting schools/programs
     f. been a positive ambassador for and/or raised awareness of the stenographic profession(s) among the general public
     g. maintained excellent professional ethics
     h. displayed excellent moral fiber and altruistic character
     NOTE:  It is not necessary that the nominee meet all these criteria but should meet a significant number of them to demonstrate excellence in
    service to PCRA and qualification for the award. 
3. A member of the Board of Directors shall be ineligible to be considered for the award while he/she is a current member of the Board of Directors.

Procedure 
1. Any PCRA member in good standing may nominate a candidate, following the outlined procedure:
     a. A written nomination must be transmitted to the President by September 1.
     b. The written nomination must contain detailed examples of the nominee’s qualifications for the award, according to the criteria provided
2. The President shall appoint a special committee within 30 days of receiving the submission. This special committee shall consist of no more than
     five (5) PCRA members and, at the President’s discretion, may include one (1) committee member from the current Board of Directors. 
     a. It is recommended that one (1) member of the original committee tasked with establishing this service award be appointed to the special 
         committee reviewing the first submission for this award.
     b.  It is recommended that the President’s charge to the special committee include the following:
          i.   a time frame within which the special committee should complete their task, with a  fixed deadline of January 15, keeping in mind that
               preparations for the award, if one is bestowed, must be completed in time for the annual convention.
          ii.  An instruction to the special committee that their discussions and decision are to remain strictly confidential.
     c. The special committee may contact the nominating member to seek clarification regarding the submission.
3. If the special committee’s recommendation is in the affirmative, the President shall present the Special Committee’s recommendation to the
     Board of Directors for a vote to expend the funds necessary for creating the physical award and presenting the same to the recipient, or his or
     her representative, at the annual convention.
4. If the special committee concludes that the nominee does not fulfill the criteria for the award, the President will inform the nominating member of
    said decision.