AF Communicators & Air Traffic Controllers Association

(Formerly the "AACS Alumni Association")

* Hall of Fame Background

* Association Policy for Hall of Fame Nominations

All of the above individuals were recognized for their outstanding Air Force careers and/or follow on careers in Government and/or Industry, where they have continued to support the high standards of excellence.

Use the Official 2005 approved Nomination Form to nominate someone for the Hall of Fame

The following Association Policy and Procedures to manage the nomination and selection of members for the Air Force Communications & Information Hall of Fame, was  originally published in May 2000. Individuals nominating AACS Alumni members who meet the eligibility requirements are encouraged to coordinate with the member being nominated and others who may have specific knowledge of the nominees accomplishments and with other members if the individual is deceased, in order to obtain specifics on Air Force, Government and/or Industry accomplishments and all meaningful decorations & awards. Write ups must be of a high quality that will allow for Air Staff review and consideration for this high honor. Please remember that the Associations nominee must compete with other nominations being submitted by Air Force and Air Force support organizations such as ours.

THE COMMUNICATIONS/INFORMATION HALL OF FAME
POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Approved:  May 8, 2000

(Revised:  Dec 9, 2007)

I.  INTRODUCTION:
A Communications/Information "Hall of Fame" was established in 1999 by the Commander, Air Force Communications & Information Center, The Pentagon, Washington, DC. To be eligible for nomination, individuals must have served in a branch of the Federal Government and made significant contributions to the Army Air Force or Air Force Communications, Air Traffic Control and/or support services disciplines. Individuals must have concluded their Federal Service at least 5 years prior to nomination.  Because of its long heritage in Communications and Air Traffic Control, the AACS Alumni Association , Inc., and now the AFCommunicators & Air Traffic Controllers Association have been honored with a request to participate in the program by selecting annually, a nominee who meets the Air Force criteria..  However, the individual must also be a current or deceased Association member to be considered as a  Association nominee for induction into the "Hall of Fame." The Board of Directors will solicit nominations for this award from the AACS Alumni Association, Inc., membership. A nominating committee will be appointed each year, by the Executive Director, to review and evaluate recommendations and submit in ranked order, not more than three nominations to the Board of Directors, who will make the selection prior to the annual Board of Directors meeting. The Executive Director will forward the AACS Alumni Association nominee to Air Force for consideration. when the call for nominations is announced.  Award presentations will be made each spring at the annual Air Force Communications/Information Spring Update (formerly called the Retired General Officers Conference (RETGO) in Washington, D.C. and inductees will be further honored by the placing of a Plaque and/or Photo on the "Wall of Fame" in the Grant Building, Scott AFB, Illinois.

II.  CRITERIA FOR NOMINATION:
Any current Association member may nominate another living or deceased member for induction into the Communications/Information Hall of Fame that meets the following criteria:

• Have served in a branch of the Federal Government and made significant contributions to the Army Air Forces and/or Air Force Communications & Information services (this includes any communications/ air traffic control or support career field while serving in a Communications Unit), and have concluded their Federal service at least 5 years prior to nomination.

• Nominee's must be current or past members of the AACS Alumni Association, Inc or the AF Comm & ATC Association.
  

III.  OTHER RELATED CRITERIA CONSIDERATIONS:
The history of the Association covers all of the years since the Army Airways Communications System was formed in 1938.  At this time, the Communications structure has changed  from Major Air Command Status to an Agency level , the Air Force Communications Agency (AFCA).  The communications and air traffic control elements are now in different units and in different Major Air Commands. Therefore, any past or current  Association member who served betwwen 1938 and today and who meets the criteria in paragraph II above and held any rank or position is eligible for nomination. There will be no special consideration given to nominees due to rank or position as the selection process will be made solely on merit and the accomplishments of each member nominated. This is a subjective consideration and all selections will be based on the information submitted or in special cases, derived by the Board of Directors.

Nominations for members living or deceased for this award will be given equal consideration by the Nominating Committee even if some of the information asked for on the Nomination Format (attached) cannot be documented. Personal knowledge of a deceased members Air Force, Government and/or private sector accomplishments will be accepted for consideration. Coordination and/or contact with a living nominee by a member submitting a nomination is considered appropriate in order to obtain specific background information to document achievements.

IV.  HALL OF FAME NOMINATING COMMITTEE:
The Executive Director of the Association will appoint three (3) members to serve for a one (1) year period on this committee and designate one member as Chairperson. Members of this committee will normally serve only one year as they are otherwise eligible for nomination themselves based on their own accomplishments. The Nominating Committee will receive nominations from members using the recommended format for Hall of Fame Nominations, not later than July 1st of each year.

The Chairperson will make copies (electronic media is acceptable) of the nominations and forward copies to the members of the committee. The committee will review nominations, arrive at a consensus for ranking the nominations and submit to the Executive Director/Board of Directors a ranked list of not more than 3 nominees for final selection.  The Nominating packages will contain an electronic media copy (CD or attachment to email in a Word format).  Every effort will be made to submit the final nominations to the Board of Directors not later than August 1st of each year.

V.  BOARD OF DIRECTORS SELECTION PROCESS:
The Board of Directors will receive the nominations (not more than 3) each year from the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee and will, in telephone coventions and/or email exchanges, discuss and make a final selection of a nominee for the award. The Board of Directors will normally have copies of the nominees selected by the Nominating Committee for consideration shortly after receeiving the nomination packages on/or about August 1st of each year.  Currently, the Air Force Call for Nominations is 1 September of each year.  The individual, if any, will be announced by the Executive Director at the annual Banquet and in the November Communicator.

The Board of Directors will use the following general criteria for the final selection of a nominee for this award:

• Review the nominations received from the Nominating Committee and select one for consideration for the award based on merit. The Board of Directors has the discretion of changing the ranking order of the nominees to make a selection.
• The Board of Directors also has the discretion of not making a selection, if in the Board's judgement, the accomplishments of the member(s) being considered do not meet the high standards established for selection.
• Any member of the Association can nominate any other member, living or deceased who meets the criteria for nomination. However, there may be exceptional cases where the Board of Directors may wish to place a deceased member of the Association in contention for this award and make a nomination directly to the Nominating Committee. Approval of this action, will require a majority vote by the Board. In fairness to all AACS Alumni Association, Inc., members who may have nominated an individual, the Nominating Committee will consider this nomination similar to all other nominations under consideration. If the Board wishes to submit a deceased member for this award one Board Member will be designated to prepare the nomination in accordance with the procedures contained in this document.
  

VI. SUBMISSION OF THE SELECTEE TO THE AIR FORCE:
The Executive Director will prepare a letter of transmittal to the Air Force activity that has called for nominations.  The letter of transmittal will include such information necessary (home address, phone number, email address, etc.) for the Air Force to coordinate the presentation, if an Association member is selected.

VII.  REAL OR PERCEIVED CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:
To ensure the total integrity of the nominating and selection process, no member of the Nominating Committee or Board of Directors submitting a nomination or being a nominee can participate as a member of the nominating commitee or vote as a member of the Board of Directors..

VIII.  CHANGES TO THIS HALL OF FAME POLICY:
Any suggested changes and/or comments to this Hall of Fame policy/procedures should be forwarded to the Executive Director. The inclusion of the Association members into the Air Force Communications/Information Hall of Fame is a great honor and an exceptional way for us to validate the accomplishments of some of our members. Therefore, it is an Association policy and impacts all of our members, and your comments are valued inputs to our policy.


Richard P. Sauer                                Stanley J. Phillips
Executive Director                              Executive Director
May, 2000                                         Revised:   Dec 9, 2007