Recognition and Awards for Volunteers

One of the most important parts of a volunteer program is recognizing and awarding your volunteers' hard work and dedication to the Forest Service (figure 55). You can thank your volunteers for their service by giving them recognition and official awards.

Figure 55—The Wrangell District Ranger presents
Volunteer Pass Awards to volunteers. Courtesy of
Paula Rak (submitted by Kristi Kantola, Forest
Service, Alaska Region)

Recognition

One of the easiest ways to thank your volunteers is to show your appreciation by bringing attention and awareness to their service. It is important to provide recognition regularly rather than once a year. Everyone, including volunteers, needs frequent recognition to feel important and needed in the agency. Here are some ideas on how you can recognize your volunteers.

• Log-on logos and volunteer messages on FS Web pages tailored to your unit.
  
  
• A "take a volunteer to lunch" event (or a brown bag or potluck gathering), which allows you and the volunteer to get to know each other.
  
  
• Posters or photos with captions on unit bulletin boards highlighting individual volunteers, supervisors, or volunteer groups.
  
  
• Media coverage in the local newspaper or in the volunteer, district, forest, or station newsletters.
  
  
• Special activities during National Volunteer Week (usually in April) or for a special volunteer activity.
  
  
• A simple thank-you note. A picture of the volunteer while serving can be included.
  
  
• A letter from the district ranger or unit manager summarizing the volunteer's accomplishments (which could be used to further career advancement or assist in gaining school credit).
  
  
• Taking time to introduce your volunteers to staff officers and Forest Service leaders, letting the volunteers know their contribution is important.

Forest Service Awards

The Forest Service has several awards for volunteers that range from a certificate of appreciation to national awards.

Certificate of Appreciation

A Certificate of Appreciation (FSM 1834.3; FSH 6109.13, sec. 31.32) is available for individual or sponsored volunteers and can be signed by the official approving the award or by a higher authority (FSH 6109.13, sec. 33.31). The following certificates are available:

• AD-141-A Certificate of Appreciation
• FS-1800-14 Volunteer Certificate of Appreciation in the National Forests
• FS-1800-14a Volunteer Certificate of Appreciation in Forestry Research
• FS-1800-15 Certificate of Appreciation for Volunteer's Sponsor in the National Forest
• FS-1800-15a Certificate of Appreciation for Volunteer's Sponsor in Forest Research

Blank certificates can be obtained from the Consolidated Forms and Publications Distribution Center, which is operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Operations, Beltsville Service Center, 6351 Ammendale Rd., Beltsville, MD (301–394–0400). Contact your unit forms clerk to place an order.

Local Awards

To add diversity and creativity to awards, many units have established awards tailored specifically to their program and volunteers (FSH 6109.13, sec. 31.14b). A few examples of local awards follow.

• Dedication to Service: For this award, a coordinator establishes several categories of hours of service for which volunteers can receive recognition.
  
  
• Special Skills: This award recognizes a volunteer's "special skills," such as an interpreter's ability to work enthusiastically and patiently with the public (figure 56).

Figure 56—A volunteer from the Verde Valley
chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society leads
an interpretive hike in Sedona, AZ. Courtesy
of Bob Beckley, Forest Service, Missoula
Technology and Development Center

• A Task Well Done: The award recognizes "a task well done." One district gave this type of award to a group of volunteers who helped remove abandoned vehicles from the forest.
  
  
• Outstanding Performance: This award, given to one volunteer each year, is highly sought after. Coordinators recommend naming this award based on your unit. For example, the Sandia Ranger District's award is named the "Sandia Peak Performance Award."

To officially establish these kinds of awards for your unit, your unit director or manager will have to address the following:

• Name of award.
• A brief, clear description of purpose: what the award was established to recognize.
• Frequency of the award. For example, annual, semiannual, intermittent, and so forth.
• Who is eligible for nomination: individuals, groups, or organizational entities.
• Process by which selections will be made, including who makes the final selections.
• The documentation that is required for a complete nomination.
• Where to send nominations and the deadline.
• What the award consists of (for example, a plaque).

Once a new award has been established, it needs to be announced in a letter or by other means and a permanent award file must be maintained.

National Awards

On an annual basis, the Chief of the Forest Service or the appropriate Washington Office staff may determine if Volunteers Program National Awards (FSH 6109.13, sec. 31.14) will be offered. When they are offered, they recognize, compliment, and support volunteers and employees for their contributions to the volunteer program. They are an expression of appreciation for contributions to the Forest Service mission of "Caring for the land and serving people." Here are some examples of the awards offered in recent years:

• Individual Volunteer Service—An individual who has assisted the Forest Service through service as a volunteer, either serving alone or with others.
  
  
• Sponsored Volunteer Service—Private sector associations, foundations, institutions, organizations, or a unit of State or local government that have assisted the Forest Service as volunteers.
  
  
• Retiree Volunteer Service—An individual over the age of 55 years who has assisted the Forest Service as a volunteer, either serving alone or with others.
  
  
• Youth Volunteer Service—Individual youth or organized group of youth under the age of 18 years from community groups, nonprofit organizations, businesses, etc., who cooperated to organize volunteer youth service or assisted the Forest Service in its mission.
  
  
• Forest Service Employee–National Forest System—A national forest employee who has made a significant contribution to advance the agency's mission through volunteer-related service, such as effective recruitment of volunteers.
  
  
• Forest Service Unit–National Forest System—Forest Service unit of two or more Forest Service employees who, as a group, have made a significant contribution to advance the agency's mission through volunteer-related service, such as effective recruitment or use of volunteers.

If an award is being offered and you want to request a national award nomination for a volunteer or group, watch your e-mail for the nomination announcement. If you think you missed the announcement and want to retrieve it from the correspondence database, you will find the letter under the 1830 category. Once you have selected your nominations for each category, submit the documentation requested in the nomination announcement to your regional office. Nomination slots are limited. The regional office selects the nominees.

Interagency Volunteer Pass

Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, authorized in December 2004, any individual who accumulates 500 hours or more of voluntary service after January 1, 2007, may be awarded an Interagency Volunteer Pass. The voluntary hours may be earned under one or any combination of the following agencies: Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, or Bureau of Reclamation. The pass is valid for 12 months from its date of issuance and covers recreation opportunities on public lands managed by all of the five agencies listed above. To obtain this interagency recreation pass for a volunteer, forward the appropriate documentation to the region/station/area volunteer coordinator who will issue the pass. For more information on this pass, please visit the Forest Service Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/passespermits/volunteer.shtml.

Chief's 1,000 Hours of Service Award

Individuals or groups of volunteers are eligible for the Chief's 1,000 Hours of Service Award (FSM 1835.2) that comes with the Forest Service volunteer pin. The certificate of appreciation (AD-141-A) is used for this award. Forward the appropriate documentation and citation for the certificate of appreciation to the Washington Office national volunteer coordinator. The national coordinator will prepare the certificate of appreciation for signature by the Chief and return it to the requesting unit for issuance with a volunteer pin.

Non-Forest Service Awards

Awards for volunteers are sponsored by resource areas, communities, and State and Federal agencies. For example, Take Pride in America, a volunteer service initiative of the USA Freedom Corps, strives to increase volunteer service benefiting America's public lands. This program can provide hours-of-service awards ranging from the 100-hour Presidential Volunteer Service Bronze Award up to the 4,000-hour Presidential Volunteer Service Award. These awards can be requested at the Web site (http://www.takepride.gov).

Timely Awards

Awards should be timely. Change your awards from year to year and tailor them to your volunteers and their positions and projects. Always remember to rotate or spread out the awards among your volunteers.

Honorary Items

Awards usually include an honorary item. Even though these items vary from unit to unit, they all have to be "nonmonetary" because volunteers are not eligible for cash awards (FSM 1835.2, FSH 6109.13, sec. 32.3). Under the U.S. Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, an award or honorary item:

• Must be an item of an honorary nature that can be worn, displayed, or used in the work environment.
  
  
• Should display a Forest Service shield or other appropriate inscription related to the granting of the award.
  
  
• Must be of nominal value. The nominal value for nonmonetary awards is set by the USDA Office of Personnel. Nonmonetary awards must cost less than $250 per recipient per award (Departmental Regulation, Office of Human Resources Management, USDA Employee Awards and Recognition Program: 1-20-11).

Here is a list of some of the honorary items coordinators have given their volunteers.

• Thermoses.
  
  
• Patches.
  
  
• Belt buckles.
  
  
• Ball caps.
  
  
• Day packs.
  
  
• Jackets.
  
  
• Sweatshirts or T-shirts.
  
  
• Pins.
  
  
• Smokey Bear rulers, erasers, pencils.
  
  
• Flashlights.
  
  
• Compasses.
  
  
• Lunch coolers.
  
  
• First aid kits.
  
  
• Dry erase boards.
  
  
• Desk pen sets.
  
  
• Desk clocks.
  
  
• Calendars.
  
  
• Camping spots.
  
  
• Recreation passes.
  
  
• Car sun shade with an inscription such as "I volunteered for the Forest Service and made a difference."
  
  
• Coffee mugs with a Forest Service shield, volunteer emblem, and/or unit logo.
  
  
• Books (including Forest Service books or picture books focused on the volunteer's special area). Remember to include an inscription such as: Presented for your outstanding accomplishment as an interpretive volunteer, Summer 1995, Mt. Hood National Forest.
  
  
• Plaques. Some plaques have a place for a 5 by 7 photo of the volunteer in action.

Purchasing Awards

Most volunteer awards are purchased out of project funds or are provided by volunteer associations that work with the Forest Service. To satisfy purchasing requirements, any awards you plan to give your volunteers must be noted in the volunteer agreement. You don’t have to be specific in the agreement and spoil the surprise. Just mention in the agreement that awards may be given.

When buying items for awards, consider combining orders with other districts, forests or stations to get the awards at the lowest cost. Many items may be available through government contracts. Catalogs offer "motivational" awards and items.

If you plan on giving your volunteers T-shirts or other clothing items, remember that silk screening is considered "printing," which generally means that the items must be purchased through the Government Printing Office. Embroidering clothing items is not "printing."

Some units have more funds to spend on awards for volunteers. This creates problems when volunteers on some units do not receive the type of awards offered by another unit. Try to maintain some consistency among awards offered by the districts and stations in your area.

Ceremonies

As the volunteer coordinator, you should plan a meaningful event where you can give your volunteers their awards. When and where you present the awards depends on the volunteers involved and the service they provide. For long-term volunteers, many coordinators plan appreciation potlucks, picnics, dessert nights, Dutch oven dinners, or barbecue cookouts.

For short-term volunteers, appreciation potlucks are not as practical. Many coordinators prefer to recognize these volunteers at the site after the project has been completed. Keeping things simple ensures that they receive recognition.

Determining the refreshments the Forest Service can legally provide during an award ceremony for volunteers can be complicated. Under the Government Employees Incentive Awards Act (5 USC. 4503), an agency may incur "necessary expenses" for the honorary recognition of employees and volunteers. The scope of "necessary expenses" was not clearly defined in the act. The Forest Service (FSH 6109.13, sec. 35.2; FSM 6511.13f) more clearly defined "necessary expenses," determining that a reception with light refreshments (such as coffee, soft drinks, and finger foods) may be provided at an award ceremony to enhance the effectiveness of the ceremony, to better meet the recognition needs of the employees and volunteers, or to minimize the need to solicit personal funds from employees.

This direction is not the final word on the matter. Your region, forest, or unit may have limited the scope even further. Check the regional or station directives to determine the kind of refreshments that may be provided at an award ceremony and who has the authority to approve such expenditures.

If you have the proper approval and plan on using project funds to pay for refreshments at a recognition ceremony, make sure you list the event on the volunteer agreement under the recognition/awards section and indicate what will be provided. Also, make sure you plan for this expense in your budget.

One way to have food and beverages at an award ceremony without using Government funds is to throw a potluck or barbecue cookout. Everyone can have fun showing off culinary skills without spending Government dollars. Another way to provide food is to ask your fellow employees if they would be willing to donate a dish. Many unit coordinators have found their colleagues are happy to do so when it comes to volunteer recognition.

Finally, when hosting an appreciation ceremony, make sure some of your fellow employees and the district ranger or station director attend the event. During our interviews with volunteers, they told us that your time meant more to them than anything else.

Volunteers really enjoy year-end slideshows. Pictures of volunteers serving with a little music in the background, bring back memories and make everyone smile.

Employee Appreciation

When honoring your volunteers, don't forget about your colleagues. To keep your fellow employees involved with the volunteer program, you will need to recognize them for their help. In most instances, your colleagues are overwhelmed with their own work and may feel unappreciated if they are not recognized for their contributions.