On April 15, a luncheon for the winners of Longwood's Citizen Leader Awards will take place. For over ten years annually, Long wood has accepted nominations for students, groups, faculty and staff who have benefited both the university and the Farmville community. Individuals are nominated by their peers or coworkers and announced at the luncheon in April. The nomination deadline was Feb. 28.
Prior to the luncheon, recipients will be notified that they have received an award, but which award they have will not be specified. A letter will also be sent home informing their family mem bers. Winners are able to bring three friends or family members to the ceremony in April.
A quote by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner from "The Lead ership Challenge" defines a citizen leader under the characteristics described by John Gardner. These characteristics are releasing hu man potential, balancing the needs of the individual and the com munity, defending the fundamental values of the community and instilling in individuals a sense of initiative and responsibility. The quote can be found at longwood.edu/leadership.
According to Director of Lankford Student Union and Activities Susan Sullivan, about 100 nominations are submitted and about 50 are awarded from that pile. To judge who gets these awards, a com mittee is put together consisting of faulty, staff and students. Those individuals then get together and look over all of the nominations to determine who should receive each award. There are several catego ries in which nominated persons could possibly receive recognition.
Some of the categories are Citizen Leader, Citizen Leader Or ganization Award, Emerging Leader Award, Faculty/ Staff Citizen Leader Award and the Honor and Integrity Award. These are just a few of the awards that are given out at the luncheon.
Sullivan, who handles the nominations for the many awards, said the qualities that make a noticeable candidate for each award vary due to the vast amount of categories a recipient could win under.
A standard qualification all students must have is a 2.5 grade point average. Award descriptions are listed on the Citizen Leader web site. For example, the award description listed under the Honor and Integrity Award says, "A student who exemplifies in a meaningful and purposeful way congruency in their everyday life and embod ies honesty and integrity."
In addition to the luncheon, award recipients also receive a plaque at the ceremony with their name on it along with the award they have won.
Last year, nine students received Citizen Leader Awards. One of those was current Student Government Association President and senior Brandon Fry. Fry said his award last year meant a great deal to him. He said, "As a Lancer, you serve your campus to do some thing good for the community. It makes you proud of what you've done."
