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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCUL 150 Civic Awards ProgramPolicy Policy Title: Civic Awards Program Policy Number CUL 150 Reference Date Originated (m/d/y) December 4, 2023 Date Revised (m/d/y) May 5, 2025 Pages 5 Approval: Chief Administrative Officer Point of Contact Supervisor, Cultural Services Policy Objective The purpose of this policy is to outline the process of the Civic Awards Program, which recognizes individuals, community groups, and businesses who have exemplified outstanding service and achievements to the City of Pickering. Index 01 Definitions 02 Roles and Responsibilities 03 Procedure to Nominate for Civic Awards 04 Civic Awards Approval Criteria 01 Definitions 01.01 Civic Award – An award to a recipient for their positive contributions to the City of Pickering. 01.02 Civic Awards Selection Panel – Comprised of Pickering City Councillors from Wards 1, 2, 3 and, Mayor, as ex -officio. 01.03 Civic Award Ceremony – A formal ceremony, hosted by the Mayor and Members of Council, to present nominees with a Civic Award 01.04 Conflict of Interest – Shall be declared when a nominee is also the spouse, parent, or child of the Selection Panel member. 02 Roles and Responsibilities 02.01 Mayor & Members of Council to: a.Approve and support this Policy . Resolution #731/25 Policy Title: Civic Awards Policy Page 2 of 6 Policy Number: CUL 150 b. Direct nomination inquiries to the appropriate City staff . c. Present the Civic Awards to recipients at the annual Civic Awards Ceremony. d. Mayor to host the ceremony. 02.02 Chief Administrative Officer to: a. Support the allocation of staff resources to coordinate the Civic Awards ceremony and nomination process. 02.03 Directors & Division Heads to: a. Support the allocation of staff resources. b. Director, Community Services to review/approve the Civic Awards nomination package, prior to being distributed to the Civic Awards Selection Panel and attend Selection Meeting. 02.04 Managers & Supervisors to: a. Assign staff resources to coordinate the Civic Awards ceremony . 02.05 Employees to: a. Gather and screen nominations for Civic Awards criteria for final endorsement by Director, Community Services and the Civic Awards Selection Panel; b. Plan, coordinate and implement all logistics for the Civic Awards Ceremony (awards, guest list, invites, special performance, notes); and c. Log and track past and present Civic Award winners. 03 Procedure to Nominate and Award Civic Awards 03.01 The City of Pickering hosts an annual Civic Awards Ceremony honouring nominees from the previous year. Nominations are accepted year-round. 03.02 Civic Awards recipients will be selected by the Civic Awards Selection Panel. 03.03 Civic Award Nominations may be submitted online or in paper copy and must be submitted on the prescribed application form by the due date. The prescribed form shall be determined by the Director, Community Services. a. Online applications must be submitted on the prescribed online application (Appendix 1). b. Hard copy nominations must be submitted to the Customer Care Centre on the prescribed paper application forms. Policy Title: Civic Awards Policy Page 3 of 6 Policy Number: CUL 150 c. A complete nomination is required, including information about the nominee's achievements, the award category, and contact information for both the nominee and nominator. d. Nominators of incomplete applications will be contacted and given an opportunity to submit all required information. e. Staff may contact nominators to seek clarification or more information if required. f. If an application is not eligible or does not comply with City policies, staff will notify the nominator. 03.04 Nominations for achievements in the previous year will close on the second Thursday in February at 4:30 pm. Nominations will be screened by staff for eligibility . A package of qualified nominations will be prepared and provided by Community Services Department staff to the Civic Awards Selection Panel for review. 03.05 The Civic Awards Selection Panel will attend a selection meeting to determine the award recipients. The selection meeting will take place after the application deadline. The Section Panel will review each category and select award recipient(s) as per their award criteria (Section 4). The Director, Community Services will be in attendance to track selected recipients for each category and answer any questions pertaining to nominations as they are put fourth. a. Members of the Civic Award Selection Panel will declare any conflict of interests at the beginning of the meeting. It is expected that the member(s) of the Selection Panel with a declared conflict, shall recuse themselves from the selection review of the conflicting nomination. b. In order for a selection panel meeting to proceed, a minimum of two of the selection panel members must be present. Should this quorum not be met, the meeting shall be deferred and rescheduled to the earliest practicable date on which the required number of panel members is available to attend. c. The selection of a candidate shall be determined by majority vote of the panel members present. In the event of a tie in the Selection Panel’s decision-making process, the Mayor, acting in their capacity as an ex officio member of the panel, shall cast the deciding vote. 03.06 Staff will notify nominees and nominators following the Civic Awards Selection Panel meeting: a. Successful recipients are each notified by an official letter from the Office of the Mayor. The letter will include an invitation to the Civic Awards Ceremony event. Policy Title: Civic Awards Policy Page 4 of 6 Policy Number: CUL 150 b. Nominators of successful and unsuccessful nominations are notified by a letter from the Director, Community Services as to the success/status of Civic Awards recipient letters. c. The names of all Civic Awards recipients are confidential until the Civic Awards Ceremony. There are no formal announcements or news releases in advance of the Ceremony. 03.07 Upon the commencement of the Civic Awards Ceremony, staff will update the website (pickering.ca/civicawards) and submit a media release with a full list of winners, their award categories and photos from the ceremony. 04 Civic Awards Approval Criteria 04.01 The Civic Awards nominations are collected year -round for individuals, groups, and businesses who have made a significant contribution to the City of Pickering. Nominees awarded must meet the criteria of the award category: • Special Citation - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses from Pickering whose outstanding achievements over the last year or more, within or outside of the City, brought Provincial, National, or International recognition to the City. • Bravery/Heroism - Given to one or more individuals for their selfless act of bravery or heroism within or outside of the City during the last year. • Lifetime Achievement - Given to one or more individuals living within or outside of Pickering, for a significant contribution over their lifetime, to the betterment of the Pickering community. • Individual Volunteer - Given to one or more individuals who stand out amongst all other valuable individuals, who live in Pickering for their volunteer service to the City over the last y ear or more. • Service Group - Given to the service group whose activities stand out amongst all other service groups in Pickering for their contribution and service to the City over the last year. • Community Group - Given to the community group whose activities stand out amongst all other community groups in Pickering for their contributions and service to the community over the last year. • Amateur Sport - Given to one or more individuals from Pickering to recognize excellence in amateur sport over the last year. • Youth Volunteer - Given to one or more youth 13 – 19 years of age for outstanding volunteerism within or outside of the City of Pickering over the last year or more. Policy Title: Civic Awards Policy Page 5 of 6 Policy Number: CUL 150 • Youth Leadership - Given to one or more Pickering youth 13 – 19 years of age for outstanding leadership within or outside the City of Pickering over the last year or more. • Sustainability - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses who have made significant contributions to the Sustainable Pickering Journey. • Arts - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses who have made significant artistic achievements within or outside the City of the last year or more. • Cultural Diversity - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses who have made significant and sustained commitment to the promotion of cultural harmony in the City of Pickering. • Heritage - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses who have demonstrated a significant contribution to the preservation, conservation, education and/or promotion of Pickering’s Heritage. • Urban Design - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses from Pickering who were outstanding in their support of and participation with community activities over the last year or more. • Economic Development - Given to one or more businesses from Pickering who have made a significant contribution to the City’s economic prosperity over the last year or more. • Local Business - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses who were outstanding in their support of and participation with community activities over the last year or more. • Environment - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses from Pickering who have made significant contributions to conserving or enhancing the City’s Natural Environment. • Accessibility - Given to one or more individuals, groups, or businesses who have made significant or ongoing contributions, beyond legislative requirements, to the well-being and advancement of people with accessibility requirements. • Animal Advocate Award – Given to an individual, group or business that actively promotes Responsible Pet Ownership and/or works to improve animal welfare in Pickering. • Green Builder Award – Given to one or more builders, showcasing innovative sustainable design, technology, and construction practices in Pickering. Policy Title: Civic Awards Policy Page 6 of 6 Policy Number: CUL 150 04.02 An individual shall only be recognized for one Civic Award per year. In the case of multiple nominations for an individual in multiple categories, the Selection Panel will identify the award category that best reflects their achievement. 04.03 Any proposal to delete, change or introduce a new Civic Award shall be approved by the Civic Award Selection Panel during the selection m eeting. Award category changes shall be made and carried out by the Director, Community Services for the following year. Please refer to all associated Procedures and Standard Operating Procedures, if applicable, for detailed processes regarding this Policy.