The Charles A. McElravy Award may be awarded annually (though not necessarily annually) to a current or former Professional, Honorary, or Retired member of IAVM who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors has made the greatest lifetime achievement to the welfare of the Association or profession.

1. Criteria: The following are established as nominee criteria for the McElravy Award.
   1. The nominee must have been a Professional, Honorary, or Retired Member of the IAVM in good standing for at least fifteen (15) years total (though not necessarily consecutively and not necessarily at the time of nomination);
   2. During the nominee’s status as a Professional, Honorary, or Retired Member, the nominee needs to have met the minimum service to IAVM requirements for Honorary Membership, but is not required to be retired; requirements include:
      1. Attendance at no fewer than 10 Annual Conferences (VenueConnect) or Region Meetings during the past 15 years.
      2. Service as chair of any combination of association or region committees for at least three annual service terms during the past 15 years.
      3. Service for at least one bi-annual service term as either of the following during the past 15 years:
         1. Member of the Board of Directors
         2. Senior Officer in a Region
         3. Member of Board of Regents, Board of Trustees, or Board of Governors
      4. Have participated as a speaker or panelist in at least 3 IAVM educational sessions or programs at conferences and schools or through the online learning platform.
   3. Any member in good standing may make a nomination in writing. Nominations should provide examples of the nominee’s outstanding contributions to IAVM and/or the industry in alignment with the below criteria;
      1. Outstanding contributions & service to the Association
      2. Exemplary leadership within the venue management industry
      3. Significant professional accomplishments
      4. Commitment to community service
      5. Investment in the professional development of others
   4. At least three letters of recommendation addressing the same criteria must accompany the nomination. At least one letter each should be provided by: an allied or former allied member, a current or former coworker within the same organization, and a current or former supervisor
   5. No Chair of IAVM is eligible for consideration until the third Annual Conference (VenueConnect) following their term of office;
   6. Previous recipients are ineligible;
   7. Nominations must be submitted to the President and CEO of the IAVM.
   8. The award may be given posthumously.
2. Review, Recommendation and Selection Processes: McElravy Award Review Committee (MAR Committee)
   1. Should more than one eligible nominee be submitted, the IAVM Chair shall appoint a committee chaired by the Immediate Past Chair plus five (5) Chairs or Vice-Chairs of IAVM committees to review the nominations and to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors (BOD) concerning the award recipient. Chair shall make reasonable efforts to ensure the committee is representative of IAVM’s membership and includes representation from the DILC and Young Professionals Committee. The Immediate Past Chair shall vote only in the event of an abstention and a corresponding tie vote among the other MAR members.  If there are no more than one McElravy Award nominee, the committee will not be appointed.
   2. The President and CEO of IAVM shall submit the nomination materials to the MAR Committee for review and recommendation. A simple majority vote of the MAR Committee members voting is sufficient to issue a recommendation to the BOD;
   3. The MAR Committee shall submit its recommendation in a timely manner, through the IAVM President and CEO, to the IAVM Board of Directors for its consideration;
   4. The BOD may accept the recommendation of the MAR Committee to bestow this award on the proposed recipient or reject the recommendation, thus not honoring that individual. The selection of the recipient will be made by an 80% majority vote of the Board of Directors members voting.
   5. Should the BOD reject the recommendation, the award shall not be bestowed for that year.
3. Award Benefits and Considerations:
   1. After an individual is named as recipient of the Charles A. McElravy Award, they shall:
      1. Pay no IAVM membership dues (but their membership classification shall otherwise remain intact);
      2. Be able to attend the Annual Conference (VenueConnect) and their home Region Conference without payment of registration fees for the recipient and for the recipient’s guest;
      3. Receive IAVM’s newsletter and bi-monthly magazine free of charge;
      4. Receive a plaque, bearing a likeness of the recipient that will include an inscription recognizing the recipient’s receipt of the award and contributions to IAVM.
   2.  McElravy Award recipients will be appropriately recognized and displayed on the IAVM website.
   3. McElravy Award recipients will be presented during the awards event at the IAVM Annual Conference (VenueConnect).