SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 12

FEATURE ARTICLES
Tips for Writing Successful Award Nominations...
For Non-Writers
SEAHO Awards and Recognition Committee
Hello SEAHO! Award season is upon us again, and has the value of recognition and appreciation ever been
higher? With everything housing staff have been asked to do over the past year, nominating someone for a
regional award is one of the simplest ways you can show dedicated members of your team how much you see
and value their hard work.
When it comes time to solicit award nominations, we often hear myriad excuses as to why people struggle
with putting their thoughts down in a formal letter of recommendation/support/nomination:
" I don't have the time - don't you know how busy I am?! "
" I am not a writer, that is not my strength! "
" I am bad at those things! "
" I don't have all the details or know enough about that person's performance! "
" Ask someone else. "
These are valid and honest responses from people who think they don't have the time, talent, or knowledge
to produce a quality award nomination. We are here to show you that none of those excuses should hold you
back, and you absolutely do have the ability to recognize your team without a PhD in award writing.
Award nominations do not have to be long.
The key to a successful nomination letter lies not in its length, but in its content. The average letter of support
is a single typed page. On letterhead. With generous margins. In fact, the longer it is, the more apt the
reviewer is to end up skimming and missing important details. Keep it short by focusing only on the pertinent
information. A one-page letter shouldn't take up too much of your time, even on the busiest of days.
Award nominations should be simple, direct, and clear.
An award nomination is not the time to bust out your thesaurus and dust off your thousand-dollar thesis
words. If anything, superfluous language makes an award nomination seem less effective, as if the nominator
needed to spice up the details with rhetoric to make it stand out. If writing is not your forte, that could
actually be a strength in this case. Award reviewers are reading a lot of submissions, and they are looking for
key details and words that tie directly back to the award criteria. Don't worry about perfect sentence structure
or passive voice - just provide factual information about how the nominee met the various points listed in the
award description. Oftentimes, the simpler and more straightforward, the better.
12

SEAHO Report - Winter 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Winter 2022

Contents
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 1
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - Contents
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 3
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 4
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 5
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 6
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 7
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 8
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 9
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 10
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 11
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 12
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 13
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 14
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 15
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 16
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 17
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 18
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 19
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 20
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 21
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 22
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 23
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 24
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 25
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 26
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 27
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 28
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 29
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 30
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 31
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 32
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 33
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 34
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 35
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 36
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 37
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 38
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 39
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 40
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 41
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 42
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 43
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 44
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 45
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 46
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 47
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 48
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 49
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 50
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 51
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 52
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 53
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 54
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 55
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 56
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 57
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 58
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 59
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 60
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 61
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 62
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 63
SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 64
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2024fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2024summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2024spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2024winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2023fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2023summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2023spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2023winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2022winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2021fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2021summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2021spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2021winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2020holiday
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2020fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2020spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2020winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2019fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2019summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2019spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2019winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2018fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2018summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2018spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2018winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2017summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2017spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2017winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2016fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2016summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2016spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2016winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2015summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2015spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2014spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/50thanniversary
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2013summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2013spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2013winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2012fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2012summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/2012winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seaho/spring2011
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com