awards

Division Awards

Following are Awards that may presented to deserving recipients at the annual Division Convention along with the criteria for each to assist our members in nominating others for the Awards.

Camps and/or members should present nominations for the various awards presented in the Division. Nominations, with the exception of newsletters and scrapbooks as they will speak for themselves, are to be in writing with supporting information or documentation.

The committee needs five (5) sets of documents submitted, including newsletter, separated in sets, preferably bound with clips or rubber bands rather than staples.

Submission of materials for the Division Awards (other than scrapbooks) must be received by the Awards Chairman no later than May 01, 2009, to allow distribution to the committee members, decision making, and ordering of awards. All documents are to be sent to:

Honorable Carl Ford, Awards Chairman,
PO Box 52,
Laurel, MS 39441

Awards

Brigade Commander of the Year	Heritage, Public Official	Preservation
Camp of the Year	Library	Publication
Compatriot of the Year	Lifetime Achievement	Recruiter of the Year
Graves	Media	Scrapbook
Heritage, Non Member	Newsletter	Young Compatriot

Walter R Bivins Compatriot of the Year Award
Named for Walter R Bivins-Past Division Commander and Emeritus Member of the Combined Boards of Beauvoir

Presented to the “Best All-Around Compatriot” in the Mississippi Division during the past 12 months.
Criteria: Member in Good Standing, Mississippi Division, SCV
               Degree of participation at camp, brigade, division level;
               Recruiting Efforts;
               Financial support of Beauvoir;
               Involvement in and support of the Division, Division projects and other Confederate activities in the Division.

Glen L Swetman Lifetime Achievement Award
Award: Named for the late Glen L Swetman, Past member of the Combined boards of Beauvoir and longtime member of the Mississippi Division.
Original Glen L Swetman Award was changed in 1997 to a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Criteria: Member in Good Standing for at least 10 years, Mississippi Division , SCV
Outstanding service to the Division and Confederation over an extended period of time.

J Z George Preservation Award
Named for Senator J Z George, Mississippi planter-statesman who was the architect of the political plan to lead Mississippi out from under the oppression of Reconstruction.
He was instrumental in establishing the new state constitution of 1890.

Criteria: Member or nonmember who has made the greatest effort in combating the forces of the second reconstruction in the last year.

John J Pettus Heritage Award
Named for Wartime Governor of Mississippi, 1859-1863.

Criteria: Mississippi public official at municipal, county, or state level;
Demonstrated the greatest support of the Confederate History during past 12 months.

A J Frantz Media Award
Named for the editor of the Brandon Republican newspaper who remained a staunch defender of the South even though his paper had to move to the woods to avoid capture and destruction by the Yankees who had occupied the paper’s hometown.

Criteria: Mississippi media entity or individual; Contributed the most to promotion or defense of Confederate history in the past year.

John L Harris Heritage Award
Named for a former Confederate Body Servant and courageous legislator who delivered a noble tribute to the Confederate Soldier and thereby convinced the State Legislature to appropriate funds to erect the Confederate Soldier’s Monument on the grounds of the State Capitol.

Criteria: Non-member of the SCV;
Made the greatest contribution, during the past 12 months, to the preservation, support and/or defense of the state’s Confederate history. Needs to be a black person.

Walter X Broome Young Compatriot Award
Named for a 12 year old boy who served as a scout for the Montgomery Scout operating in Mississippi. He was captured and was about to be hanged when a Union officer saved him by declaring him. “Too brave to die.”

Criteria: Member in good standing, Mississippi Division, SCV;
Most outstanding young compatriot between the age of 12 and 16 years old.

Jefferson Davis Presidential Library Award

Criteria: Presented to a member or nonmember who has supported the Library in a most significant manner during the past 12 months.

General William D McCain Publication Award
Named for the late Dr William D McCain, who served many years as Adjutant-in-Chief, United Sons of Confederate Veterans, and as Secretary-Treasurer of the Combined Boards of Beauvoir.

Criteria:     Best published work on Mississippi Confederate history.
                   Must be 50 pages or more in length
                   Published within the past two calendar years.
                   Submission of nomination letter and 1 copy of the work.
                   Following review by the Awards Committee, submitted publications will be donated to the Presidential Library.

Stephen D Lee Recruiter of the Year Award
Named for Lt General Stephen D Lee who served as General-in-Chief, United Confederate Veterans
and first President of the Mississippi A & M College (now Mississippi State University) after the war.
He also served on the Vicksburg Battlefield Commission at the inception of that national military battlefield park.
Born in South Carolina he adopted Mississippi as his home and now rests in Friendship Cemetery in Columbus.

Criteria:     Awarded to the member who recruited the most new members during the current year.
                 Member in good standing, Mississippi Division, SCV;
                 Identified by IHQ as being the division member who remitted the most new members during the current year, recognition will be given to members recruiting over 5 new members during the year.

Dale S Fleming Newsletter Award
Previously known as the General Stephen D Lee Newspaper Award, its name changed to the Dale S Fleming Newsletter Award by the Executive Committee, Mississippi Division SCV in July, 1999.
The late Mr Fleming was past commander of the Mississippi Division, SCV, and served many years as editor of the Division’s newsletter.
He authored numerous articles on the war and published a weekly column in the Clarion-Ledger Newspaper during the Civil War Centennial titled, “The War in Mississippi.”

Criteria: Best camp newsletter during the past 12 months; Judge on the 100 point scale set for the SCV National Newsletter Award:

Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 pts.
Camp News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 pts.
Historical Content . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 pts.
National/Division/Local News. . . 15 pts.
Editorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 pts.

Applicants must submit a minimum of 5 copies each of the 6 latest consecutive issues of the newsletter running from October of the previous year thru March of the current year.

As of 2001, two awards are presented:

one to a camp of less than 50 members
one to a camp with more than 50 members.

Dunbar Roland Scrapbook Award
Named for the late Dunbar Roland, long time Director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History,
noted historian and publisher of books and articles on Mississippi Confederate History.

Criteria: Member in Good Standing, Mississippi Division, SCV,
Best scrapbook in the Division during the past 12 months, Judged on the 100 point scale set for the SCV National Scrapbook Award.

Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 pts.
Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 pts.
Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 pts.
Namesake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 pts.
Roster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 pts.
Other Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 pts.
Organization/Appearance. . . . . . . 10 pts.

Camp scrapbooks will be judged at the convention. They are to be submitted to the Committee Chairman upon arrival at the convention on Friday afternoon or night. The committee will review the scrapbooks Saturday morning.

Jefferson Davis Camp of the Year Award
Named for the first and only President of the Confederate States of America.

Criteria: Best “all around camp” during the past 12 months; Narrative supporting nomination should describe: Percentage of membership increase or decrease, number of Real Sons, number of regular meeting, number and description of special meetings or events such as Lee/Jackson Dinners, Confederate Memorial Services, etc…; Description of special projects, publications, such as newsletters and/or scrapbooks; Participation in other SCV activities such as events at Beauvoir, Division and National Conventions, workshops, etc…; Financial support of Confederate projects such as Beauvoir, Division, “Elm Springs,” etc.

Brigade Commander of the Year Award

Criteria: Brigade Commander, Mississippi Division, SCV;
Demonstration of the most effective leadership during the past year in terms of organizing new camps, supporting existing camps, supporting division projects and activities, compliance with reporting requirements, and promotion of Confederate Heritage within his brigade. Nominations to be made by Division Leadership.

Father Abram Joseph Ryan Graves Award

Award: Named for Father Abram Joseph Ryan who served the Confederacy as a Chaplain during the War for Southern Independence. After the War, Father Ryan resided in Biloxi, MS for several years before moving to Mobile, AL. Father Ryan became known as the Poet-Priest of the Confederacy. His poems include “Gather the Sacred Dust”, “The Conquered Banner”, “The Lost Cause”, and “The Sword of Robert E. Lee.”

Purpose: This award is to be presented annually to the individual who has shown significant dedication to our Southern Heritage by recording for posterity the graves of our fallen heroes, as stipulated in the Selection Criteria below.

Eligibility: Any member in good standing in the Mississippi Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Selection Criteria: The candidate must complete at least two of the criteria listed below and must have occurred within the previous 12 months of the submission deadline date of April 1st.;

1.    Through research, identify ten Confederate Veterans buried in their state and not currently listed on a Graves Database, by a Historical Society, a Library or other similar source.
2.    Place a gravestone on at least two previously unmarked Confederate Veteran’s graves in their state. The headstone can be from the Veterans Administration or of a similar type but they must show Confederate Service.
3.    Install ten or more iron Southern Cross of Honor on the graves of Confederate Veterans.
4.    Compile a book or CD on the Confederate Veterans buried in one of the cities or counties in their state. The book or CD should be indexed with name and location of the Veteran’s grave and cemetery. If possible, a cemetery map and pictures of headstones and/or Veteran should be included.
5.    Transcribe three (3) Work Project Administration (WPA) surveys and post them on the MSGENWEB ( http://www.usgenweb.org/msgenweb/ ) on their respective county page, place a copy in the local historical society or library and ensure all previously unknown names are added to the state database.
6.    Or complete another significant independent project which brings honor to the Confederate Veteran.

Selection Process: Nominations for this award maybe submitted by any member in good standing of the Mississippi Division, SCV to the chairman of the Awards Committee no later than April 15th . Nominations shall be in writing or email with supporting information or documentation. The chairman and committee members will determine the most qualified candidate and submit the candidate’s name and qualifications to the Division Commander no later than May 1st for final approval.