ACT SECTION 43 — AWARDS

The Victor A. Schmidt Conservation Award is established to annually recognize one NSS member who, over time, has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the conservation of caves. Names of candidates will be solicited by the Awards Committee, and the recipient will be approved by the Board of Governors upon recommendation of the Awards Committee. The redipient must have been a member in good standing of the Society for at least two years immediately prior to his name being submitted as a candidate. The Awards Committee shall give preference to candidates who have not received the Outstanding Service Award or Honorary Membership.

The James G. Mitchell Fund was established in 1965 and is maintained by contributions to the National Speleological Foundation. Pursuant to the agreement with the Foundation, an award may be made for the best scientific paper presented at any of the sessions of the annual convention by a member (or members) of the Society age 25 or younger. Papers shall be evaluated primarily on how well they exemplify sound methods of scientific research and presentation, and secondarily on their contribution to knowledge. The eligible papers shall be judged by an interdisciplinary panel appointed by the Awards Committee Mitchell Award Sub-committee Chairman and shall include, if possible, a member of the Research Advisory Committee. The Award shall consist of a suitable certificate (or certificates in the case of multiple authors) and a cash award equal to the maximum $5 increment below the interest earned on the fund for that year and shall be announced at the annual convention.

The single annual recipients of each of the William J. Stephenson Outstanding Service Award and the Honorary Membership shall be selected by the Board of Governors from candidates submitted by the Awards Committee, which shall be responsible for and limited to soliciting nominations and supporting material for the board’s consideration and, if necessary, selectively reducing the number of candidates for one of the awards to no more than five. As stated in the membership bylaws, the Honorary Membership is for contributions to speleology broadly defined, and the Outstanding ervice Award is for contributions to speleology and the National Speleological Society in particular. For the Outstanding Service Award, the committee shall submit only candidates who have been members of the NSS for at least the past two years. If the recipient of either award is not already a life member, the Society will pay to the Life Membership Fund the current life membership fee to support the life membership priveleges received by the recipient. Each recipient will receive a certificate signed by the members of the Board of Governors.

The Board of Governors may, each year at the convention, award several Certificates of Merit, each for a specific recent accomplishment in cave exploration, study, or conservation or which furthers other goals of the Society. Ordinarily no more than three accomplishments should be honored each year. The awards shall be selected with the advice of the Awards Committee. For each such award, up to three individuals or organizations responsible for the accomplishment shall be named and presented with copies of the certificate. If an individual recipient is a member of the Society, his status as a Certificate of Merit recipient shall be recorded in the Society's membership records.

A Lew Bicking Award has been established to recognize a dedication to the thorough exploration and mapping of a cave or a group of caves. The award may be given to an individual, or to a pair of cavers who, through specific joint actions, qualify equally for the award based on the exploration they have done together. One such award may be made each year. Names of candidates will be solicited from NSS members and Internal Organizations by the Awards Committee, and the recipient(s) will be approved by the Board of Governors upon recommendation of the Awards Committee. The recipient or recipients must have been a member or members in good standing of the Society for at least two years immediately prior to his/her/their names being submitted as a candidate <<or candidates>>. The Awards Committee shall give preference to candidates who have not received the Outstanding Service Award or Honorary Membership. The name(s) of the recipient(s) shall be announced at the annual convention and the recipient(s) will receive an appropriate certificate signed by the President. The Chairman of the Awards Committee shall notify the recipients in writing of the award and shall enclose a check in the amount of the award.

The Lew Bicking Award will be the maximum $5 increment below the interest earned on the fund for that year. The balance of the interest shall be added to the principle.

The President is empowered to award Certificates of Appreciation to persons or organizations that have, by specific action, furthered a goal or several goals of the Society. The name(s) of the recipient(s) shall be announced at the annual convention and the recipient shall receive from the Awards Committee a suitably designed certificate, signed by the President, which states the reason for the Award. The recipient may receive subsequent Certificates of Appreciation if the President determines that additional awards are merited.

The Board of Governors, on advice from the Awards Committee according to the procedures in Appendix AU, annually selects Fellows of the Society. Recipients will be those members who, over a number of years, have exemplified by their actions their dedication to the goals of the Society or the Society itself. Recipients must have been members in good standing of the Society for at least two years immediately prior to being awarded fellowships. New Fellows will be announced at the annual convention and will receive a certificate signed by the President and the Chairman of the Awards Committee.

The Peter M. Hauer Spelean History Award is established to provide annually a cash award to be given to an individual or group of individuals engaged in an outstanding spelean history research project. The NSS American Spelean History Association shall select the recipient of this award. The amount of the award shall be determined by the NSS Secretary-Treasurer and shall be paid pursuant to the Peter M. Hauer Fund agreement with the National Speleological Foundation. The name of the Recipient will be announced at the annual convention. The Chairman of the Awards Committee will notify, in writing, the recipient of the award and will enclose a check in the amount of the award.

The amount of the Peter M. Hauer Spelean History Award is not to exceed the maximum $5 increment below the interest earned on the fund for that year. The balance of the interest shall be added to the principle.

The Awards committee shall submit a written report to the Board following each National Convention listing all of the awards given that year. It is suggested that the rationale or subject matter of each award be included. A copy of the report shall also be submitted to the NSS NEWS for publication.

The National Caves Association shall be permitted to give an award for the best paper regarding a show cave presented by an NSS member at each convention. The winner shall be chosen at the convention by a committee consisting of NCA members and one member of the NSS Awards Committee.

A Science Award is established to annually recognize one NSS member who, over time, has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the scientific study of caves. Names of candidates will be solicited by the Awards Committee, and the recipient will be approved by the Board of Governors upon recommendation of the Awards Committee. The recipient must have been a member in good standing of the Society for at least two years immediately prior to his name being submitted as a candidate. The Awards Committee shall give preference to candidates who have not received the Outstanding Service Award or Honorary Membership.

A Spelean Arts and Letters Award is established to annually recognize one NSS member who, over time, has advanced spelean arts and letters by significant artistic expression, management, or criticism. Names of candidates will be solicited by the Awards Committee, and the recipient will be approved by the Board of Governors upon recommendation of the Awards Committee. The recipient must have been a member in good standing of the Society for at least two years immediately prior to his name being submitted as a candidate. The Awards Committee shall give preference to candidates who have not received the Outstanding Service Award or Honorary Membership.

Only living people shall be selected for Society awards.
(This Act is out of sequence because it was “lost” for many years.)

The NSS Web Page Award is established to recognize two caving related Web sites quarterly. The NSS Web Page Award sub-committee of the NSS Information Technology Committee will administer the award. The NSS Information Technology Committee Chairman will select the sub-chairman. The award consists of a distinctive logo that winning pages may display on their pages. Pages may win the award once during a calendar year. The sub-committee will establish criteria for the award. Web pages will be nominated via a link from the NSS home page.

The Awards Committee is established in the Department of the President and is responsible for administering the NSS award program as provided in other Acts and Bylaws.

The NSS OVP shall develop a pin for Fellows of the Society and distribute pins to all current and future Fellow recipients free of charge.

Cross References

19-379 Research Grants
Appendix AL
Appendix AU
Section 6

9-15-07

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