Call for Nominations for the 2011 American Recreation Coalition Beacon Awards and the Bureau of Land Management 2011 Legends Honoree; DD: 05/01/2011

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENTWashington, D.C.  20240April 20, 2011In Reply Refer To:8300 (250) PEMS TRANSMISSION 04/21/2011Information Bulletin No. 2011-046To:                   All Washington Office and Field Office OfficialsFrom:               Assistant Director, Renewable Resources and PlanningSubject:           Call for Nominations for the 2011 American Recreation Coalition Beacon Awards and the Bureau of Land Management 2011 Legends Honoree                                                                                                             DD:  05/01/2011Program Area:  Recreation, Travel, Tourism, and Visitor ServicesPurpose:  This Information Bulletin invites each State Director, Center Director, and Washington Office (WO) Assistant Director to make nominations for two separate American Recreation Coalition (ARC) awards that will be presented during Great Outdoors Week in June 2011.  These awards are the Beacon Award, which recognizes innovative use of technology in visitor services and recreation management, and the Legends Award, which recognizes an outstanding Bureau of Land Management (BLM) staff employee for increasing recreation opportunities and participation.  The ARC will present the Beacon and Legends Awards at special events in Washington, D.C., during Great Outdoors Week, June 11-17, 2011.  The honorees will also be invited to attend many other events held during Great Outdoors Week. Policy/Action:  Each BLM State Office, Center, and WO Assistant Directorate is invited to make one nomination each for the ARC Beacon Award and the BLM Legends Award, and to submit their nominations to the Division of Recreation and Visitor Services (WO-250).Timeframe:  Nominations for each award should be submitted by May 2, 2011.  The ARC will select the Beacon Award honorees by May 15, 2011.  The BLM will select the BLM Legends Award Honoree by May 16, 2011.Budget Impact:  The BLM Legends Award honorees residing outside the Washington, D.C. metro area are provided 1 week of travel expenses and per diem.  The BLM Legends Award honoree is also invited to be accompanied by his/her guest.   The Division of Recreation and Visitor Services will cover all the travel expenses of the BLM’s Legends honoree and guest.  No similar funding is provided for Beacon Award recipient travel expenses.Background:  On March 28, 2011, the American Recreation Coalition President, Derrick Crandall, formally invited BLM participation in the annual awards program conducted as part of Great Outdoors Week.  The BLM began participating in the Legends Awards program in 1991 and in the Beacon Awards program in 2006.  The list of past BLM recipients for both awards is included in Attachments1 and 2.The BLM’s Division of Recreation and Visitor Services will coordinate the awards nomination process.  Attachments 3 and 4 provide the details and nomination criteria for the Legends and Beacon Awards.  Each BLM State Director, Center Director, and WO Assistant Director may submit one nomination for each award to the Division of Recreation and Visitor Services (WO-250).The nomination packet must include:Either the project title (Beacon Award) or the nominees name (Legends Award).

• Contact information to include the address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address.
• A narrative addressing the four ARC criteria for the appropriate award.
• A concise summary paragraph to be used by the ARC to prepare the award citation.
• The Legends Award packet should also include a high quality digital head and shoulders photograph of the nominee suitable for publication and display.

Attachments 5 and 6, the packages submitted for the 2009 BLM Legends and Beacons Honorees, serve as example nomination packages for both the Legends and Beacons Awards.Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  None.Coordination:  Beacon Awards – The BLM may make a maximum of two nominations.  A BLM interdisciplinary team will be established to review all of the BLM’s nominees.  The team will recommend up to two Beacon Award nominees to the Chief, Division of Recreation and Visitor Service, who will make the final recommendation and then forward the recommendations to the ARC.  The final selection of honorees will be done by a special panel assembled by ARC.  The Beacon Award winners will be honored at a special ceremony during Great Outdoors Week where the ARC will showcase its award-winning initiatives for an audience of agency, congressional, and recreation-community officials.Legends Award – Legends Award - One BLM Legends Honoree is named annually to receive this prestigious award.  Nominations should be limited to a field office staff employee who has made a significant contribution to the recreation and visitor services program.  A panel will be established to review all of the BLM’s nominees.  The team will recommend a BLM honoree to the Chief, Division of Recreation and Visitor Services, who will make the final recommendation and forward the recommendation to the Assistant Director, Renewable Resources and Planning (AD-200), for concurrence.  Upon AD-200 approval, the Chief, Division of Recreation and Visitor Services, will notify the honoree and provide the honoree’s name, photograph, and award citation information to the ARC.  The 2011 BLM Legends Honoree will be recognized during a noon luncheon on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, in Washington, D.C.Contact:  Please submit the completed nomination packets for both awards by May 1, 2011, providing the documentation listed in the Background section above.  Send the complete nomination packets for each award by e-mail to Kevin Chesley, Division of Recreation and Visitor Services (WO-250), at Kevin_Chesley@blm.gov. You may also call Kevin at 202- 912 -7254 for more information.Signed by:                                                       Authenticated by:Edwin L. Roberson                                         Robert M. WilliamsAssistant Director                                           Division of IRM Governance,WO-560Renewable Resources and Planning6 Attachments      1 – BLM Legends Honoree Listing (1 p)      2 – ARC Beacon Award Honorees Nominated by BLM (1 p)      3 – American Recreation Coalition Legends Awards Purpose and Selection Criteria (1 p)      4 – American Recreation Coalition Beacon Awards Purpose and Selection Criteria (1 p)      5– Nomination submission for Jim Jennings, BLM 2009 Legends Honoree (4 pp)      6 – Nomination submission for WO-172, BLM 2009 Beacon Award Honoree (5 p)