Standard Operating Procedure – Awards and Commendations

  1. Purpose: It is the purpose of this policy to set forth guidelines for awards and commendations by the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators for outstanding efforts and achievements of its members. The intent of the award process is to acknowledge and promote outstanding efforts and to encourage usage of “best” practice techniques of safety and service to the populations the membership serves.
  1. Duration: It will be the intent of the Board of Directors to present any awards and commendations publically to the membership during the association’s annual conference. Dates, times, and order of presentation are flexible depending on conference events and schedules.
  1. Considerations:
  2. Awards nominations will be accepted and considered for the time frame of the previous twelve months since the last awards presentations. Nominations must be received by the board of directors for deliberation before October 1st of each year.
  3. Actions and incidents should be consistent with standard safety practices and guidelines accepted by the association and its members. Special consideration may be given under extenuating circumstances, but is not encouraged and should not be the norm.
  4. Incidents collected and presented for deliberation will be discussed and voted on by the elected board of directors. In the case where a board member is being considered as a potential award recipient, that board member will recuse himself or herself from the award voting process.
  1. Awards:

A.  Negotiation Team of the Year/ Negotiator of the Year

  1. This award is for the public acknowledgement of efforts of a negotiation team or negotiator at a life-threatening incident.
  2. Consideration for this award should not be solely based on the outcome of the incident, but the efforts and usage of training guidelines embraced by this organization.
  3. Since the association teaches and champions Crisis Negotiation as a team concept rather than individual one, attention should be given to the team effort behind lifesaving situation efforts, as opposed to a single individual.
  4. In the exceptional occasion in which only a single negotiator or member is on the scene or involved in the resolution of a life threatening situation, then that individual is eligible for acknowledgement of their efforts through this awards process.
  5. Only one “Negotiation Team / Negotiator of the Year” award will be presented for each year.

B.  Award of Excellence

  1. This award is for public acknowledgment of outstanding achievement, support to the association, or outstanding service in the field of Crisis Negotiation.
  2. This award may include, but does not require involvement in a critical incident and may be awarded to a group or individuals for positive promotion of the association.
  3. More than one “Award of Excellence” may be awarded each calendar year at the discretion of the board of directors by majority vote.
  4. Those being considered for the “Award of Excellence” must be a current member in good standing with the association.
  1. Presentation:
  2. In all cases possible, the presentation of awards should occur in front of an assembly of members and conference attendees during the association’s annual conference.
  3. Award recipients will receive a plaque suitable for display as well as a certificate of achievement from the association.
  4. In the case of multiple recipients of an award for the same event (such as “Negotiation Team of the Year”), a single plaque will be purchased by the association for the group or agency, while each individual team member will receive a personalized certificate.
  1. Any recipient of “Negotiation Team (or Negotiator) of the Year” or any recipient of the “Award of Excellence” will have their membership dues for the next calendar year waived.