Eligibility Requirements

Nominees must be current APTA members in good standing at the time of nomination and selection.

Criteria for Selection

• Contributions and service in the realm of any area(s) of concern to the association as a whole or to the association's components, or elements relative to the national association.
• Contributions made through an individual's service on one or more elected or appointed groups, in one or more elected or appointed positions, and/or in one or more other capacities at the national and component levels of the association.

A strong application should demonstrate the following:

The type of contribution and the value of the contribution will be scored on a district, component, national, and international level and on the category of service (e.g., service in governance, service in advocacy, service in education).

The type of contribution and the value of the contribution will also be scored on whether and the level to which:

• In general, the service/contributions of the nominee are of concern to the physical therapy profession and APTA as a whole.
• In general, the service/contributions of the nominee are of concern to the components (district, chapter, section, academy) of APTA.
• The nominee has made contributions to APTA by serving on one or more elected or appointed groups (committees, task forces, etc.).
• The nominee has made contributions to APTA by serving in one or more elected positions (officer, committee chair, board member, etc.).
• The nominee has made contributions that have benefited APTA in some other capacity (manuscript reviewer, presenter, advocacy initiatives, etc.). 
• The overall impact (value) of the individual’s service and contributions to APTA.

Letters of support that are positive, cite specific examples of professional accomplishments, and provide additional information on depth, scope, and quality in a convincing manner.

What Recipients Receive

An award and the Lucy Blair Service Award lapel pin will be presented to the recipient(s) by APTA's Board of Directors at an APTA national event, and an official announcement will appear in an association publication.

Submission Requirements

During the online process, the following documents will be required for upload:

• Current curriculum vitae or resume of the nominee.
• A letter of nomination that specifically focuses on the strengths of the nominee in relation to the award criteria, not to exceed three pages. Letters of nomination cannot serve as one of the required letters of support.
• Four letters of support obtained from individuals who can specifically address one or more of the criteria for selection, not to exceed two pages each. (Note: If more than four letters of support are received, only the first four will be considered. The nominator will be asked to remove additional letters.)

Submit a Nomination

The nominations call for the Honors and Awards program is open Sept.1- Dec. 1. Nominations must be submitted through our online portal by Dec. 1; late submissions will not be considered. Selected recipients and their nominators will be notified in May.

Additional Resources

For questions regarding the nomination process or the award, please contact honorsandawards@apta.org.