Center to honor volunteers at annual event next month Published March 12, 2009 By Airman & Family Readiness Center TINKER PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Okla., -- The Air Force celebrates its volunteers every year in April. During the wing-sponsored Volunteer Recognition Ceremony, those nominated for Angel and Volunteer Excellence Awards are acknowledged and award recipients are announced. Though nomination packages are normally due two months before the event, this year, they will be accepted through March 27. The nominations may be in any one of six categories: Active duty Spouse (of active duty member) Retired (member or spouse) Youth (any teenager) Civilian (not an active duty or retired member or spouse) Married couple (regardless of military status) Submission of nominations: Volunteer Excellence Award nominations must be submitted on Air Force Form 1206. All awards nominations must be turned in no later than March 27. With the exception of the VEA, award nominations will be reviewed by a committee at the Airman and Family Readiness Center. All awards will be presented at the annual awards luncheon April 23 at the Tinker Club. Nominations are to be direct, fact-filled and results-oriented. The nomination should emphasize the benefits realized by the volunteer's service and include qualifying factors that are out of the ordinary. Some suggestions for consideration are: leadership and management, scope of responsibility, innovative and creative ideas, community involvement, initiative and reliability. Nominators should be specific when giving the time frame of the accomplishment. A committee from the Airman and Family Readiness Center will provide nominations for center volunteers and those will be given to the director. The director will then make a determination as to which of those will be sent forward for consideration. Other awards to be considered: The fact that the VEA is a lifetime award does not negate the service of all volunteers. Based on that, there are many other opportunities for awards. Those are the Angel Award Program and the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. The Angel Award: This award was begun by Eunice Welch, wife of retired Gen. Larry D. Welch, former Air Force chief of Staff. Mrs. Welch envisioned each Air Force community selecting a very few outstanding volunteers who would be awarded a distinctive pin which would be recognized worldwide. Her goal was to acknowledge volunteers who made a difference in the military community. The Angel Award is a prestigious award that recognizes one's commitment to volunteerism. Criteria for selecting Angel Award recipients are that the nominees, either individuals or groups, must be active duty or retired military or base employees, their spouses or dependents, or those whose only connection to the base is through their volunteer efforts. Their accomplishments must have taken place during the previous year either on base or in the local community, and volunteerism in the local community must have benefited the base. Presidential Volunteer Service Award: This award is based on service hours. There are three levels of award: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Once an award is earned, the awardee can continue to work accumulating service hours toward a higher level award. Community Cares: The Volunteer Resource Program Manager -- in coordination with commanders, directors or managers -- can also spontaneously recognize volunteers with proof of 100, 500 or 1,000 hours and can be given a certificate and volunteer coin. For more information, call Lorna Fairchild, at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, at 739-2596.