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Region 17 Youth Achievement Award and the
National AIS Clarke Cosgrove Award by
Stephanie Strauss R17 Youth Chair In 2003, at the Region 17 Annual meeting the membership voted to award a Region 17 Youth Achievement Award each year to a deserving youth in Region 17. The award may be presented in each year at the Annual R17 Meeting, along with a check in the amount of $50.00. The winner of the award will then be nominated for the Clarke Cosgrove Award which is the National AIS Youth Award for the upcoming year. The winner of the National AIS Clarke Cosgrove Award receives a trophy and a $500 cash prize, 2nd place wins $300, and 3rd place wins $200. These awards are presented at the AIS Convention in the spring of the following year. In November 2007, the AIS created a new fund called the YCCR (Youth Cosgrove Convention Registration) which will be used to pay for convention registration fees of Cosgrove winners. Nominations for the Clarke Cosgrove Youth Award are due January 31, 2009. Unfortunately Region 17 has received no nominations for the youth award since I received the nomination in 2004. I was the first and only youth to nominated for the R17 Award. And since I received the Clark Cosgrove Award in 2002, I could not be nominated for it again. But I did receive my 2005 National AIS Convention Registration and the cost of my flight to get there from the Region as well as a new iris introduction from Hooker Nichols. The medal designed for this R17 Youth Award is awesome. It is an iris etched on a glass diamond shaped medal. I am sure there is one or two youth in R17 that are doing many of the items in the list below. Start now and get letters of recommendation in. If you are not sure what to write about the youth, talk to them or their parents, give them a copy of the list below, and ask them to make you a resume about their child. Then you can add more facts to your recommendation letter. Please nominate and encourage the youth in your Region. The Region 17 Youth Achievement Award committee is composed of the RVP, the Newsletter Editor, and the Region 17 Youth Chair. Any AIS member may nominate any AIS youth member. A youth may be nominated by more than one person, or by someone from another region. With the nomination, please include the youth's age (DOB) and name of local club membership. The person making the nomination must outline the nominee’s activities following the guidelines below. If a list of the youth's activities is needed, call a club officer, the club's Youth Advisor, a close relative, or the youth themselves. Youth nominations are made in writing to the Youth Chair for the Region, the letter is not to exceed two pages, setting out the youth's qualifications, his activities in local and regional affairs, and any special considerations that are the reason for the nomination. From these nominations the committee will select the winner for the year. The nomination letter should include the personal attributes of the youth, using the list below as a guideline. ·
Growing
a fine garden ·
Actively
hybridizing ·
Writing
for an iris publication ·
Helping
an iris organization through a committee or activity ·
Visiting
local iris gardens ·
Attending
regional-national tours ·
Studying
to be an AIS judge ·
Promoting
irises and/or AIS to others ·
Signing
up new AIS members ·
Competing
enthusiastically in iris shows ·
Experimenting
with irises ·
Showing
an interest in the various iris classes and sizes ·
Demonstrating
leadership skills ·
Deadline
for submitting Region 17 Youth Achievement Award nominations -- postmarked by July 15 each year. Mail
or email nomination letters to:
Stephanie
Strauss dkstraus@swbell.net
 
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