George Warren Fuller Award

The George Warren Fuller Award is conferred for distinguished service in the water supply field and in commemoration of the sound engineering skill, the brilliant diplomatic talent, and the constructive leadership of people in the Association which characterized the life of George Warren Fuller to members of respective sections.

Past recipients of the George Warren Fuller Award

GEORGE WARREN FULLER AWARD

Purpose of this Award: George Warren Fuller Awards are presented annually by the American Water Works Association to the sections' respective selected members for their distinguished service to the water supply field in commemoration of the sound engineering skill . . . the brilliant diplomatic talent . . . and the constructive leadership which characterized the life of George Warren Fuller.

The Award: A George Warren Fuller Award Plaque and pin.

Frequency of the Award: Annually, if deserved.

Eligibility for the Award: To qualify for the award the person must be an Individual Member or a duly appointed representative of an organization member of the American Water Works Association. In the case of a posthumous award, the recipient must have been an AWWA member at the time of his/her death. Each section may make annual Fuller Award presentations equal to its number of Directors on the Association Board of Directors.

Entry Requirements: Submission of a completed AWWA entry form by any section member to the section Fuller Award Committee.

Nomination Procedure: Any section member may nominate an individual by submitting the completed entry form to the section Fuller Award Committee. A "citation" or statement of the basis upon which the recommendation is made must be included. Citations should in general contain 40 words or less and be appropriate for introduction of the awardee at the section award ceremony and the Fuller Society Breakfast held during the AWWA annual conference. Editorial adjustments in citations may be made as deemed necessary.

Nomination and Submission Deadline: Nominations shall be submitted to the section Fuller Award Committee as established by each section. The section Fuller Award Committee Chair shall report the awardee to the Executive Director of AWWA by March 10 including the awardee's full name and address and the citation to accompany the award. This information should also be included as part of the official section meeting report by the section secretary.

Fuller Award Committee Membership: The Fuller Award Committee shall consist of five members of the section and shall be appointed and announced at least six months prior to the section's annual meeting. All members of the Fuller Award Committee, if possible, shall be former recipients of the Fuller Award or the Water Utility Man of the Year Award. If this is not possible, committee members may be chosen from AWWA members who are leaders of the water works industry within the section.

The Fuller Award Committee of each section shall be set up on a rotating basis with one new member being appointed each year by the section chair to serve a five-year term and with the senior member designated chair of the committee. The section secretary should send the name of the Fuller Award Committee Chair to the Executive Director each year. Under this system, each member will become chair in the fifth and final year of his/her service on the committee and will retire from the committee when his/her report for that year is given to the section.

New sections will establish the rotation system by appointing their first committee members for staggered terms of from one to five years and designating the member appointed for one year as the chair. In such instances the earliest recipient of the Fuller Award or the Water Utility Man of the Year Award should be appointed to the committee for a five-year term.

Each member appointed to a section Fuller Award Committee shall be furnished with a copy of these criteria, the attached copy of the statement on the life and works of George Warren Fuller to guide him/her in the exercise of his duties on the committee, and the entry form.

Method of Selecting the Award Recipient: The recipients of the George Warren Fuller Awards are selected by the individual sections of the Association from among their own members in accordance with these criteria. Such selection is presumed to recognize publicly the contribution toward the advancement of water works practice.

Each year, the Fuller Award Committee of each section upon reviewing the eligible candidates, shall determine if any member(s) of the section has provided outstanding leadership or has made a significant contribution toward the advancement of the water works practice within the Association and/or the section such that he/she should receive the award. Following selection of an awardee, the committee shall report its selection to the Executive Director who will inform the official representative regarding the award presentation. After the award has been presented the committee will forward its report, including the official citation, to the section secretary. It is emphasized that the qualifications for the award specify that the services of the candidate must have been over and above those expected of officers and committee members in fulfilling the obligations or duties assigned to them. It is emphasized that the performance of a nominee must be exceptional and extraordinary. Each section may award the same number of Fuller Awards as the number of its section Directors on the Association Board of Directors.

Presentation of the Award: The announcement of the award shall be made a part of the annual meeting of the section granting it and shall be made by the Association's official representative at the section meeting or by the presiding official of the section. The reading of the committee report should be accompanied by the reading of the citation and as much of the prepared statement concerning the life and works of George Warren Fuller as fits the occasion.

The presentation of an award plaque will be made at the Fuller Award Society Breakfast held during the American Water Works Association Annual Conference and Exposition. If, in special cases, the awardee is unable to attend the annual conference, the presentation of the award plaque may be made at the section meeting.

Each awardee automatically becomes a member of the George Warren Fuller Award Society of the American Water Works Association. No initiation fees or annual dues are required for membership in this society. The annual meeting of the society is held at the Fuller Award Society Breakfast at the American Water Works Association Annual Conference and Exposition. 

George Warren Fuller Award Nomination Form