ORRRC Annual Awards
Nomination Schedule
- November 1 – December 30: Nominations accepted
- January 2-9: Online voting open
- Jan 9-10: Board Officers (President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer) & Annual Party Lead Review Nominations and Votes to Ensure Fairness, Kindness, and Avoid “Popularity Contest” Mentality – then Finalize Selectees
- January 20: The Awards Party
Award Eligibility
- To be eligible for any ORRRC award, except for Rookie of the Year, a person must have been a club member for the entire year covered by the award.
- For the Rookie of the Year award, a person must have first joined the club after July 1 of the year before the award year and before July 1 of the year in question. (That means that to be eligible for the 2023 Rookie of the Year Award, a person must have joined the club after July 1, 2022 and before July 1, 2023.)
- Club members may nominate one person for multiple awards, but may only make one nomination in each category.
- A club member may only receive the following awards once: Ambassador, Terry Murray Award, Volunteer of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Please check our awards listing before you nominate.
- We may change the category of a nomination or even disallow a nomination. We may cancel categories that do not receive sufficient nominations. Any change in a nomination must be approved by the ORRRC President, and the appropriate nominator will be notified.
Terry Murray Award
The Terry Murray award is all about participation in ORRRC events as a runner and a volunteer. This award recognizes two runners — one male and one female member of the ORRRC — who showed up at just about every club run and participated by running to the very best of his or her ability and volunteered at several events. This person is persistent, engaged, and always there at club events — running, volunteering, and representing the club and who we are. This award is performance based, in the sense that the recipients run most of our club events, and finish the events that they entered. The recipients are also active volunteers, helping out at club events throughout the year. This is the award for the person who is really engaged in the ORRRC and supports the club by running well and volunteering in all of our runs and events. A person can only win this award once.
For the first year, these two members will be nominated by the public and selected by the ORRRC Board of Trustees. In future years, the prior year’s winners may make nominations which will be selected by the ORRRC Board of Trustees. In the event that no previous winners are available to nominate, the process begins again as though it were the first year.
Winners
2023:
Male: Jim Bulach
Female: Karen Gildow
Runner of the Year
Recognizes two runners — one male and one female member of the ORRRC — who have demonstrated consistently outstanding performances in organized races during the past year. Nominees for this award may be considered not only for their speed but also for their versatility and consistency as well as their support and representation of the club while performing at this high level over the year.
Winners
2023:
Male: Tom Helfinstine
Female : Kim Johnston
Performance of the Year
Recognizes one male and one female member of the ORRRC for the most outstanding performance of the year in a race, road or trail. “Outstanding” is considered in terms of course difficulty and weather conditions as well as the age, gender, and ability of the runner. In other words, this is a relative, not an absolute, test.
Winners
2023:
Male: Chris Thieke
Female: Molly Kash
Most Improved
Recognizes one male and one female member of the ORRRC whose performances in running in the past year have significantly improved. This is calculated using data from races and is not voted-upon by the membership.
Winners
2023:
Male: Robert Saul
Female: Elizabeth Wells
Rookie of the Year
Recognizes the male or female member of the ORRRC who, in his or her first year of running has demonstrated mental toughness and persistence as well as ability. A person can only win this award once.
Winners
2023:
Male: Eric Nicoles
Female: Kayla Edwards
Ambassador
Whereas many of our awards acknowledge service within the ORRRC, the Ambassador Award recognizes the single individual who favorably represents the Club to the greater running community. Criteria for this award may include noteworthy performances at national and international races, improving trail conditions through volunteerism, serving as an advocate for running in civic and government arenas, and volunteering at ORRRC and non-club running events. In short, the Ambassador Award is given to the one person who somehow manages to make us look good. A person can only win this award once.
Winners
2023:
Jennifer Summers
Volunteer of the Year
The Volunteer Award is for a person who graciously gives of his or her time to help at club events. The recipient of this award does not have to be a runner, but may be. This award is for the person who volunteers in many different ways: at aid stations, helping organize events, pacing, crewing, or otherwise helping the runners of the ORRRC. A person can only win this award once. This award should not be given to a current Board of Trustees Member, as it is intended to recognize at-large volunteers.
Winners
2023:
Lawrence Chow
Best Photo
Best photo of a ORRRC run or of a ORRRC member at any race. The photo must be submitted in digital format and taken by an ORRRC member who authorizes its use in the contest. (If we receive enough submissions, we may make categories. If we do not receive enough submissions, we may cancel the category.)