{"id":1007,"date":"2017-06-15T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prcamobile.com\/?p=1007"},"modified":"2024-03-07T15:07:33","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T21:07:33","slug":"top-8-tips-submitting-prca-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/top-8-tips-submitting-prca-awards","title":{"rendered":"Top 8 Tips for Submitting PRCA Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know it\u2019s June and we are just months out from completing the 2017 state awards program, and then I even turned around and asked you to help me judge awards for West Virginia (gasp!); so WHY am I here talking about awards\u2026 again? Simple. To keep you thinking about the awards process! <\/span><\/p>\n

While things are (relatively) fresh on our brains I wanted to share with you some insight I\u2019ve gained seeing the awards process from every angle. And while I may be referencing PRCA awards, I\u2019m certain the information carries over to all award entries. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. No excuses. Start now.
    \n<\/b>The awards happen every year. It\u2019s not a surprise. The deadline may change each time but we all know it\u2019s roughly going to be around the same time each year, barring any major changes to the conference. So why wait until you find out the actual deadline? Start now. Start when you start your project. The entry follows the process of your project so write each section as you go. Doing this can serve as a sort of checks-and-balances to make sure you are doing those vital parts (RPIE) of your campaign\/publication\/event and not just deciding things on your own.<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u2019t stress the small stuff.
    \n<\/b>Categories matter but really, not so much. There IS a category for everything! If you can\u2019t find the right category for you then your category is \u201cpotpourri.\u201d Problem solved. I know this may seem like such a small thing but sometimes the small things turn into a big hurdle and an excuse to not do something. Don\u2019t let it stop you!<\/li>\n
  3. Answer everything. Completely.
    \n<\/b>One of the biggest mistakes I see is people not fully answering the questions on the entry. It\u2019s great that your campaign, event, brochure, etc. is absolutely AH-mazing but, if you don\u2019t TELL your story in your entry the judge isn\u2019t going to know it. The awards process isn\u2019t just about the final product. It\u2019s about the steps you took to get to the final product (Remember RPIE?). And tell all. The judge isn\u2019t familiar with your company or organization or the event so don\u2019t assume they know who\/what you are. Rather, assume they know nothing and tell<\/i> them.<\/li>\n
  4. Be specific.
    \n<\/b>Don\u2019t just say you did research, tell what research you did. Was it formal or informal? What was your response rate on the survey? Who did you interview? Etc.Don\u2019t just say your event was a success. HOW was it a success? In measurable terms.
    \n<\/strong>Don\u2019t just say \u201cwe increased awareness.\u201d HOW did you do this and how do you know you did it?
    \n<\/strong>Be specific. Be detailed. Remember, the judge only has the information you give them, don\u2019t leave anything out.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Spell-check is your friend!
    \n<\/b>ALWAYS put your entry in Word and use spell-check. This one simple step can go a long way. Just do it.<\/li>\n
  6. And it doesn\u2019t hurt to use your colleagues either.
    \n<\/b>Ask someone to critique your work. Preferably someone not connected to the project. Arm them with nothing more than your entry (complete package of what you will enter in the system – narrative and any supporting documentation), along with the judging criteria. Ask them to review your entry as if they were the judge.<\/li>\n
  7. Serve as a judge yourself.
    \n<\/b>Don\u2019t shy away from judging just because you\u2019ve never entered. You are still a professional. You\u2019ve got expertise. You\u2019ll get to see the other side of the awards coin and see for yourself what other professionals are doing right and what they can improve on in their entries.<\/li>\n
  8. It\u2019s okay (encouraged actually) to double dip!
    \n<\/b>Use PRCA and SPRF awards programs to continue tweaking your entry and your process! The PRCA Medallions typically take place in the beginning of the year and the SPRF Lanterns later in the fall. You can enter both and one is not dependent on the other. PRCA and SPRF use the same award management system \u2013 OpenWater. So, you can enter PRCA\u2019s Medallions then use the feedback from the judges to edit your entry and re-enter the same submission for SPRF Lanterns (or vice versa) as long as your work falls within the time frame specified for each awards program. The deadline for SPRF awards is July 28, 2017. For more information on this program visit: http:\/\/sprf.org\/content.php?page=Awards<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As always if you have any questions about any part of the process please feel free to reach out to me, or others who have entered. Most people are willing to help; and since each entry is judged independently and not against the other entries it\u2019s not really a competition but rather a chance for you to have your work reviewed by colleagues. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

    Happy awards writing!
    \n-Penny<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Questions|Comments|Suggestions: Contact 2017 Awards Chair Penny Hatcher at <\/span>phatcher@soearth.com<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I know it\u2019s June and we are just months out from completing the 2017 state awards program, and then I even turned around and asked you to help me judge awards for West Virginia (gasp!); so WHY am I here talking about awards\u2026 again? Simple. To keep you thinking about the awards process! While things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1007"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3014,"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007\/revisions\/3014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prcamobile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}