UPDATED: The original deadline for award nominations was February 1, but the deadline was extended to February 8. We have corrected this in the below post which originally only mentioned the Feb 1 date.

This month we will once again explore the Volunteer of Excellence Pin. Because all Council approved formal award nominations are by February 8th, we will spend the rest of the year looking at Service Unit approved adult awards. The Volunteer of Excellence is an opportunity to recognize volunteers who have contributed outstanding service in support of mission delivery to girl and adult members at a troop or Service Unit level. Submit the Volunteer of Excellence (VOE) nomination for to your SU Adult Recognitions coordinator/committee.

If you miss the February 8 extended awards deadline, there is still plenty of time this year to recognize one another. Volunteer of Excellence is a great springboard to giving adult recognitions in your Service Unit. It is a meaningful award, and relatively easy to give! Creating a robust system of adult recognitions is the key to meaningful volunteer appreciation. Giving a combination of awards like Year of Service and Tenure, the Appreciation Pin, and the Volunteer of Excellence, will ensure a wide array of volunteers are appreciated for the service they have given. Check out our volunteer appreciation bullseye to learn more!

Can you remind me – what does a Volunteer of Excellence look like? A Volunteer of Excellence goes above and beyond the call of duty as a troop co-leader or Service Unit Team member. For example, Sabrina leads a large, multi-age troop. She never says no to girls looking for an excellent Girl Scout experience so her troop has grown to over 25 girls! Last year Sabrina coordinated a very successful camping experience for her troop which the girls loved. Sabrina is also dedicated to making Girl Scouts a girl-led experience – which is no small feat considering the size of her troop! In this example, Sabrina is definitely a Volunteer of Excellence.

To earn the Volunteer of Excellence award, a fellow volunteer must nominate the awardee and one peer reference is needed to endorse this nomination. Download and complete the nomination form, located on the Adult Recognition page of our website, and submit it your Service Unit team. Celebrate the recipients of the VOE award at Service Unit leaders’ meeting, awards ceremony, or other Service Unit function. Council will acknowledge all awardees in print at our Annual Recognition Event. Remember to submit a complete list of awardees in your Service Unit to Council prior to May 1.

For more information about the Volunteer of Excellence Award, and all other GSWNY adult awards, please read our Adult Awards and Recognitions Quick Guide or check out our Adult Recognition web page. You can always reach out to a member of the Volunteer Experience team for more information by emailing us at volunteer@gswny.org. Thank you!