Why Should I Win an Award?
Have you ever been secretly envious of a colleague who has won a major professional award? Do you ever wish you had an award or two under your belt that you could add to your resume and LinkedIn profile? That’s because an award validates you and your work. It makes you feel like what you are doing is worthwhile. It raises your own self-esteem and earns you the respect of others. It raises your company’s profile in the community and your employer’s view of your performance. So what are you waiting for?
Can I Win An Award?
A lot of times when we think of entering an awards competition, we have a hard time looking at our work as award-worthy. We immediately think of those in high-profile positions and companies as our competition. Not true. Each entry in the AWC Clarion Awards is judged on its own merit and awarded points accordingly. There are over 100 categories to reflect all the different ways professional communicators fulfill needs in our society. Excellence can occur anywhere from a major TV station to a church newsletter.
How Did You Overcome the Obstacle of 2020?
In 2020, our world was turned upside down by a global pandemic. Like most everywhere else, the work professional communicators do became more difficult. How do you show that your company is concerned about public safety and has taken steps to keep people safe? How do you even go about planning events that will still have the same impact if people cannot participate in person?
In most cases, we rose to the challenges, we innovated, we reassured, we adapted. How did you as a communicator respond to the challenges of 2020? Is this your chance to break the ice on applying for a national award?
AWC Clarion Awards have added special categories this year to recognize the special challenges we faced:
- 81a. Best Special Event that never happened.
- 81b. Best Special Event that went virtual
- 81c. Best Special Event that happened (with changes)
- 81d. Best Special Event that happened as planned.
Tips for a Winning Award Entry
At AWC, we love to hear the stories of the work you have done and we love to recognize and celebrate your excellence! True to form as a nurturing and supportive organization, AWC offers tips on how to increase your chances of winning. These tips were compiled by long-time AWC members, program managers, and judges Pat Meads and Sheryl Liddle. The Tips presentation was recently updated.
AWC Judging
Judges for the AWC Clarion awards are your peers. Someone with experience in magazines will be assigned entries in the magazines categories. Someone with experience in social media will judge entries in the social media categories. The Clarion Awards application is designed to help you tell your story and gather all the collateral data and materials so that our judges can make a fair and impartial assessment of your entry. Make it easy for the judges to see the merits of your entry!
If you have at least 10 years of experience in your communication field, you are eligible to apply to be a judge for this year’s awards. Deadline for applications is April 6, 2021. If you are not quite ready to enter your own work, judging will help you understand the process.
AWC Clarion Award Timeline
- January 14 Open for entries
- March 9 Early Bird Deadline
- April 12 Final Deadline
- Mid-July Winners announced
- November Awards Presentation at AWC National Conference
Apply online at womcom.org!
About the Author
Peggy Fleming is Director of Communication and Engagement at West Bank in West Des Moines, Iowa. A member of the Association for Women in Communications, she currently serves on the AWC National Board of Directors and on the board of her local chapter. An AWC Clarion Award winner and judge, in 2021 she is chairing the Clarion Awards. Peggy is a graduate of Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
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