Frequently Asked Questions about the Hallmark Awards Program
Can any officer sign in place of the Chapter President on the Entry Forms?
Yes. If an Entry Form calls for the chapter president's signature and that person
is unavailable for any reason, any chapter officer may sign in his or her place.
Can the Nomination from a Chapter Officer for the Distinguished Regional Officer
Award be written by a Regional Officer?
Yes. A Regional Officer may write the Nomination from a Chapter Officer, if that
Regional Officer also serves as a chapter officer in a different chapter than the
award nominee.
Can a student be nominated for the Distinguished Regional Officer Award if his or
her team is being nominated for the Distinguished Regional Officer Team Award?
Yes. Regional Coordinators may submit an entry for both awards in the same year.
Should Nominations be written in paragraph format?
It is highly recommended, because a paragraph format will allow chapters to fully
develop their ideas and communicate better to judges the scope of their activities.
Several Nominations are required for each Member and Advisor Award entry. Does
the page limit given on the Nomination Form refer to the complete entry or to
each individual Nomination?
The page limit given on the Nomination Form is for each Nomination, not the
complete entry. For the Member Awards, an entry may have up to three pages for
each of the three Nominations required, up to a total of nine pages. For the
Advisor Awards, an entry may have up to three pages for each of the two
Nominations required, up to a total of six pages.
If a member held office in Spring 2007, but not in Fall 2007, should he or
she be nominated for the Distinguished Chapter Officer Award or for the
Distinguished Chapter Member Award?
A member should be nominated for the Distinguished Chapter Officer Award if
he or she held chapter office at any time between January and December 2007.
Only members who did not hold office between January and December 2007 should be
nominated for the Distinguished Chapter Member Award.
If a member held two different chapter offices during the 2007 calendar year,
should the Distinguished Chapter Officer Award nomination for that member
include information related to both offices or only one?
The nomination may include details from the member's service in both offices.
For example, if a member served as the Chapter Secretary in Spring
2007 and the Chapter Vice President in Fall 2007, his or her nomination for the
Distinguished Chapter Officer Award may include details of his or her service in
both offices held.
For the Distinguished Advisor Awards, must the required five years of service
be consecutive?
No. If an advisor has a total of at least five years of service, he or she
should be nominated for the Distinguished Advisor Award rather than the Paragon
Award, even if he or she left the chapter for a period of time and later resumed
the advisor role.
Why are entries disqualified for not following the formatting guidelines on the Entry Forms?
For each entry, nominations are limited to a set number of pages. In order to ensure that all chapters have an equal opportunity to present their work, each page must have minimum margins and use the same font, with a minimum size. Chapter submissions disregarding these requirements, outlined on each category Entry Form, are automatically disqualified and are not read by Hallmark Awards judges.
For the three chapter award categories, responses are limited to a certain number of projects. Is it possible for a "project" to incorporate more than one activity?
Yes. In fact, the best entries show that chapters are able to explore an issue more in depth by designing long-term projects including multiple opportunities for involvement by different audiences. For example, one chapter project may be hosting the Honors Satellite Seminar Series. Each of the four live broadcasts, and other related activities such as a response essay contest, may be featured in the award entry as part of this one project.
For the three chapter award categories, should activities for the secondary focus of each Hallmark be derived from Phi Theta Kappa programs?
Maybe. The secondary focus of each Hallmark emphasizes civic engagement by encouraging chapters to address campus, community and regional needs. In some cases, Phi Theta Kappa programs such as Project Graduation or Voice Your Vote may offer resources for chapters in these areas of need. However, this is not always the case. At times a chapter may choose to start a new program or get involved with a scholarship, service or leadership opportunity best addressed by a non-Phi Theta Kappa program. Such activities are acceptable for inclusion in the secondary focus of each Hallmark.
