OFFICIAL AWARD GUIDELINES | PLEASE READ IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR NOMINATION
INTRODUCTION
This award, the most prestigious honor the North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs can bestow upon its chief fire officer executives, was conceived to recognize truly outstanding fire chiefs whose actions and leadership in their profession, home, community and country, serve as an example and challenge for all other chief fire executives throughout the southeast. The selected Fire Chiefs of the Year will be submitted as the North Carolina nominees for the IAFC – Southeastern Fire Chief of the year.
SPONSORSHIP
The North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs, Fire Chief of the Year Award will be sponsored by a selected cooperate partner of the NCAFC. The selected sponsor will fund such award and present the NCAFC Fire Chief of the Year Award during the Annual Mid Winter Conference.
AWARD CRITERIA
Two awards will be presented annually; one for Career Fire Chief and one for a Combination/Volunteer Fire Chief. The selected Fire Chiefs of the Year will not be announced prior to the banquet and the awards for Fire Chief of the Year will not be given, until the night of the Fire Chief and Fire Officer of the Year Banquet Annually.
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A volunteer fire chief is defined as one who earns his or her principal livelihood by some means other than serving as a fire chief, even if the position of chief carries some compensation.
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A career fire chief is defined as one who earns his or her principal livelihood as a fire chief.
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In each category, the status of the fire department as a whole – paid, volunteer or combination – is not considered.
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Individuals who are eligible for nomination and selection as Fire Chief of the Year are limited to active fire chiefs (organization head) of fire rescue agencies. Previous Fire Chief of the Year winners are not eligible for additional nomination.
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Selection criteria will emphasize leadership, innovation, professional development, integrity, service to the public and contributions to the fire service as a whole.
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All of a nominee’s fire service activities and accomplishments will be considered. A nominee’s command role at a major emergency incident alone, while relevant, will not be enough to place that individual into contention for the award.
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Nominees must be a member of the NCAFC to be eligible for this award. Members of the NCAFC Executive Board are ineligible to be considered for this award.
NOMINATING ORGANIZATIONS
Nominations for Career and Combination/Volunteer may come any organization in the state. Each NCSFA – Region will submit for nomination a Career and Combination/Volunteer Fire Chief for consideration. All nominations must comply with process and award criteria.
NOMINATION PROCESS
Nomination Period
The nomination period shall open September 2nd, 2024 and will close on October 31, 2024.
NOMINATION FORMAT (Must be followed completely or the nominee will not be considered – No exceptions)
[ONLINE] Three steps to prepare the official nomination form:
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Complete the official online nomination form. Remember, this is a lifetime achievement award, not one specific incident.
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Obtain a cover letter on the organization’s letterhead, signed by the organization’s chairperson, president or executive director, county or city manager describing in less than 1200 words the nominee’s major accomplishments and why the candidate is being nominated. Upload as an attached file to your online application.
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Obtain a Digital photo file of the nominee, to be uploaded with online application. [High-resolution digital photo.]
NOMINATION SUBMITTAL (Must be followed completely or the nominee will not be considered – No exceptions)
The nomination form and supporting documents comprise the entire documentation for a candidate’s nomination. Neither the nominee nor anyone representing him or her is to contact any member(s) of the Fire Chief of the Year Committee or the NCAFC Board of Directors once the nomination has been made and before the final selection has been made. Any violations of this will subject the nominee to disqualification.
To complete an online nomination for a NCAFC Fire Chief of the Year, you must complete the Official Online Nomination Form Below, uploading nomination letter and photo.
The NCAFC Executive Director will then submit all nominations to the NCAFC Fire Chief of the Year Committee by January 5th of each year. Only properly submitted documents will be reviewed for submission, with no exceptions. The NCAFC is not responsible for submissions received past the deadline.
FIRE CHIEF OF THE YEAR COMMITTEE
The President of the NCAFC will appoint a current NCAFC member to chair the selection committee. The Committee Chair will establish a date and time for the committee to discuss Fire Chief of the Year Candidates. The Committee is comprised of the last three years award winners for Career and Combination/Volunteer Fire Chiefs of the Year and the NCAFC Committee Chair.
SELECTION PROCESS
Each nomination package will be reviewed by the Fire Chief of the Year Committee. The NCAFC reserves the right to omit any award for just cause. Winners will be announced at the NCAFC Annual Fire Chief of the Banquet at the Mid Winter Conference annually.
Failure to read the above policy may result in an incomplete nomination packet which will not comply with the nomination requirements. Please submit your nomination using the nomination form below, in conjunction with the supporting nomination information.
It will be the responsibility of the person submitting the nomination to everything possible to ensure that his/her nominee is present at the conference.
For questions, please contact Scott Burnette, Executive Director at 1-888-50-CHIEF (2-4433), opt. 4 or by email at sburnette@ncafc.com. No late nominations will be accepted.
