Distinguished Service Award

BOOKBUILDERS WEST is a vital organization because of the hard work, energy, and dedication of the volunteers who chair committees, present seminars, write copy for the newsletter, produce the Book Show, update the Web site, and complete all the other required jobs. Every task on every Bookbuilders committee is accomplished by someone who has a stress-filled day job, but who works for Bookbuilders West through love of the book-building industry and the people in it. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes those top-of-the-tier volunteers whose legacy is long and whose contributions are great and lasting.

The Distinguished Service Award was initiated in 1983 as an opportunity to recognize individual achievement and service of lasting value and importance to our industry. The DSA Committee created the following criteria to identify the yearly recipient:

Duration of involvement with the book publishing industry.
Services to the industry in general and to Bookbuilders West in particular.
Lasting impact of the individual's activities on the industry and on BBW.
Influence for good exerted by the individual on BBW, on his or her company or companies, and on other individuals with whom the honoree interacted.
Permanency of the individual's legacy within the industry and within BBW.

The DSA Committee consists of five or six people who have long tenure with Bookbuilders West and can function as an institutional memory of BBW, able to review the past and present to select nominees who meet the criteria above. The original Committee felt strongly that the entire history of BBW should be reviewed—considering individuals from the formative years; from more recent, but not current, years; and from among those once active but now geographically removed from the scene. Past presidents, publishers, suppliers, and the Board should have representatives on the Committee.

Nominees are suggested by the Committee members and by the Board during their September meeting. The Chair researches the service/accomplishments of these nominees by reviewing the BBW CD-ROM and Book Show catalogs. This information is then forwarded to the Committee with a request for any other related material the members may have about the service of each nominee. After the Committee has received and reviewed this information, each Committee member ranks the nominees in a weighted vote. The Chair tallies these votes, informs the Committee of the decision, and promptly swears them to secrecy. This secret is shared with BBW's current president. The recipient's name is not divulged publicly until the Book Show, when the award is presented, traditionally by the previous year's recipient.

Distinguished Service Award Recipients

2007   Stephen Thomas
2006   Michael O'Brien
2005   Michele Bisson Savoy
2004   Rebecca Swee
2003   Karen Richardson
2002   Tony Crouch
2001   Don Smith
2000   Arlene J. Cowan
1999   Gary Head
1998   Paul Butzler
1997   Detta Penna
1996   Chet Grycz
1995   Gordon Johnson
1994   Jonathan Peck
1993   Elliott Derman
1992   Casimira Kostecki
1991   Bill Ketron
1990   Karen Judd
1989   Patricia Brewer
1988   Roy Wallace
1987   Fran Mitchell
1986   Bill Ralph
1985   Charles A. Goehring
1984   Al Lindenbaum
1983   Lon Driggers