Volume 4, Number 3
October 2006

Summary of Awards for 2006

By Yvonne Ferris INMM Awards Oversight Committee Chair

Another wonderful INMM Annual Meeting has come and gone.  Probably because of the students, there just seemed to be a lot of energy and enthusiasm during the entire week.  Of course, one of the great thrills of the meeting is the Awards Banquet when we honor those who have demonstrated outstanding service to the nuclear materials management community. 

Although we are always saddened by those members who are no longer with us, we revere their memory with Resolutions of Respect prepared for their family and read at the banquet.  This year a Resolution of Respect was prepared for Tohru Haginoya, Richard Schneider and Fred Tingey – three outstanding gentlemen who have forever left their mark on the nuclear materials management community.

On a happier note, three prominent and deserving people in the MC&A community were singled out for awards.  One is Scott Vance, certainly well-known to the membership as he is chair of the Membership Committee. 

Vance is the recipient of the 2006 Meritorious Award “for over 17 years of dedicated service and valuable contributions to the INMM as chairman of the Membership committee, vice chair of the Packaging and Transportation Division and JNMM’s technical editor of this division, actively involved member of the Waste Management Division and the Technical Program Committee, Senior Member since 2001, co-chair of the PATRAM meeting in 2001, and vice president and president of the Northeast Chapter of the INMM.” 

Connie Hall and Lee Leonard were recipients of Special Service Awards. 

Connie Hall’s award was given “for approximately 30 years of dedicated service and valuable contributions to the MC&A community in general and the Y-12 NMC&A program specifically. The shutdown of operations for approximately 10 years resulted in this program suffering considerably.  Through her proactive leadership and oversight, the NMC&A group has been reorganized and staffed with qualified professionals capable of maintaining a quality MC&A program.  She has encouraged and supported new approaches resulting in a highly improved MC&A program, she is viewed as a resource for MC&A subject matter experts, and continues to promote an atmosphere of cooperation while providing opportunities for her staff to become MC&A subject matter experts.” 

Lee Leonard’s award was “for over 13 years of dedicated and valuable contributions to the national and international management of radiological sources. Through Mr. Leonard's vision, commitment, expertise and leadership, the DOE Off-Site Recovery Program has characterized and dispositioned both nuclear and radiological sources more safely, efficiently and cost-effectively, thereby improving security and reducing the threat of terrorism”.  As you can see, the MC&A community in general and the INMM specifically can boast of truly outstanding individuals.

The Special Service Award Committee is the best kept secret in the INMM.  It is chaired by Teressa McKinney and supported by her wonderful committee.  As the name implies, the Special Service Award is given to people, firms, institutes, universities and laboratories that have performed an outstanding feat in the nuclear materials management field and deserve to be recognized for it.  In other words, the recipient is special. 

Obviously, the recipient does not have to be a member of the INMM nor a person.  The Special Service Award is the means by which we, as corporate members of the nuclear materials management community, can and should honor individuals and organizations for their contribution to us and to the world. 

As stated in the Special Service Award Charter “The Special Service Award is given to individuals or organizations that have contributed substantial service or have made specific noteworthy contributions to the nuclear materials management field or the Institute.  This service may have been a substantial single event or a long-term sustained effort that provided noteworthy service to the nuclear materials management field or the INMM.  Recipients are not required to be INMM members.”

So look around you and see if any of your colleagues or the facilities with whom you conduct business deserve special recognition and start gathering supporting information to provide to the Special Service Award Subcommittee.  The process is not difficult, but you must be able to justify your nomination.  The Awards Committee Web page lists the recipients of all awards (Distinguished Service, Meritorious Service, Special Service, Student Paper, and Resolutions of Respect), but to give you an idea of the people and institutions who have received the Special Service Award in the past, I have included their names below.

I hope this “tutorial” on the features of the Special Service Award has inspired you to consider the contributions of your colleagues and other contacts for a possible Special Service Award.  If you have any questions, contact Teressa McKinney at 865-241-9695 and McKinneyTL@ORNL.GOV; or me, Yvonne Ferris at 301-903-6619 and yvonne.ferris@em.doe.gov.