Partnership and Volunteer Awards

Excellence in Partnerships Award

The Corps has established an annual award intended to recognize outstanding contributions by a partner to the Corps recreation and environmental stewardship programs. The Excellence in Partnerships Award is presented to the recipient in the spring each year. Divisions, districts and projects should be constantly on the lookout for outstanding examples to nominate each year.
• Request for nominations: September
• Nominations due: Mid-December
• Recipient Announcement: January
• Recipient Award: Spring (date determined by availability of partner)

  Click here to view a list of past recipients and for application materials.

National Volunteer of the Year Awards

The Corps of Engineers and the Corps Foundation established the National Volunteer of the Year Awardsto recognize the extraordinary service provided by volunteers, draw attention to their vast skills and contributions, and encourage an attitude of stewardship and responsibility in caring for Corps lands, facilities, and resources. The intent of the awards is to distinguish those individuals, couples, family units, or groups who give their skills, talents, and time beyond the normal call of duty and whose creditable service to the Corps has resulted in the significant enhancement to one or more of the Corps business lines.
• Request for nominations: September
• Nominations due: Mid-December
• Recipient Announcement: January
• Recipient Award: Spring (date determined by availability of volunteer)"

  Click here to view a list of past recipients and for application materials.

Volunteer Excellence Coins

The Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the Corps Foundation, created these coins to recognize the extraordinary service provided by volunteers, draw attention to their vast skills and contributions, and encourage an attitude of stewardship and responsibility in caring for Corps lands, facilities, and resources. The intent of this recognition is to distinguish those individuals, couples, or families who give their skills, talents, and time beyond the normal call of duty and whose creditable service to the Corps has resulted in the significant enhancement to one or more of the Corps business lines.

Click here to see criteria and a list of past coin recipients

Outdoor Recreation Roundtables Legends and Beacon Awards

The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) annually honors an outstanding employee from each federal land management agency with the ORR Legends Award. This award is presented to recognize extraordinary individual efforts that have expanded and enhanced recreational opportunities, connecting people- especially children- and the outdoors, through public/private partnerships, or have increased participation in outdoor recreation through innovative programs based upon public/private partnerships. Award criteria include:
• Quantifiable improvements in recreation opportunities or participation in recreation by non-traditional visitors
• Reliance upon partnerships with the private sector
• Use of creative solutions and programs and sharing news of creative solutions with the agency
• Community support for the work of the individual

  The Beacon Award recognizes outstanding initiatives where new technologies provide improved, cost-effective solutions to recreation program needs. Award criteria include:

• Innovation in either the use of technology for visitor services or the use of technology for recreation management;
• Partnerships with for-profit and nonprofit organizations in the private sector;
• Efforts to share news of creative solutions within the agency; and
• Community support for the work of this initiative, as reflected in awards, community boards and committees, etc

• Request for nominations: December
• Nominations due: February
• Recipient Announcement: March
• Recipient Award: June

• Click here to view a list of past recipients and application materials

Corps Foundation Enduring Service Volunteer Award

The Enduring Service Volunteer Award was established by Corps Foundation to honor long term service and outstanding accomplishments by individuals and families as volunteers at Corps of Engineers operated lakes and waterways. The award recognizes the extraordinary service provided by volunteers; it draws attention to their contributions and encourages an attitude of public responsibility in caring for Corps operated lakes and their resources. Each year the Corps Foundation presents the award to two individuals or families who display exceptional voluntary leadership, and have made or are making a positive difference in Corps lakes, waterways and the communities they serve.
• Request for nominations: September
• Nominations due: Mid-December
• Recipient announcement: January
• Recipient award: Fall (date determined by availability of volunteer)

• Click here to view a list of past recipients and application materials

Technical Problems
Updated: February 2024