Exemplary Service Award

Paul D. Kaiser

The IPMAAC President has the opportunity to present the Exemplary Service Award recognizing an individual's contributions to the organization. Certainly there are a number of IPMAAC members who are deserving of this award and this year we recognized two such individuals.

The Exemplary Service Award was established in 1991, in conjunction with IPMAAC's 15^th anniversary, as a way to recognize members for continuously and generously contributing their time, energy and talents to the IPMA Assessment Council. The award is our organization's highest honor and has previously been bestowed upon Sue Christopher, Charles F. Sproule, Nancy Abrams and Clyde J. Lindley. Clearly a distinguished group.

At this year's conference, on behalf of the membership, and with our gratitude and appreciation, I had the honor to present this award to Jim Johnson and Bill Waldron.

Jim Johnson has been a contributing member of IPMAAC since its inception. For over twenty years, Jim has shared his knowledge, research and wisdom with his colleagues and friends in the profession. Each year Jim is called on to make at least one presentation at the conference; he has served on every IPMAAC committee, and has chaired most of them. Jim was IPMAAC's longest tenured President, overseeing our transition to an improved and more vital organization. Dr. Johnson was instrumental in bringing IPMAAC to the internet--but that is characteristic of Jim--he's always looking for new ways to improve IPMAAC's contribution to the profession and make sure assessment professionals stay on the cutting edge of technology. Jim has long been the person we call for technical advice or to help us find our way around a particularly troublesome problem. I ask you to join me in expressing our affection and appreciation to one of IPMAAC's best friends, Jim Johnson.

When I queried the board members and other IPMAAC devotees about who was deserving of this award, Bill Waldron's name immediately sprang from everyone's lips. And rightly so. Bill is the heart and soul of the IPMAAC Electronic Communications Network. Under his guidance, IPMAAC Online has evolved into one of the organization's most successful endeavors. I'm not sure if all of you are fully aware of the impact that IMPAAC Online has made in increasing IPMAAC's respect and recognition among our assessment colleagues across the nation. It allowed IPMAAC to be at the center of the discussion surrounding the Nassau County situation; it provided our members with the means to dialogue about issues from afar; it is one of the premier sources of information concerning issues confronting the profession. Bill labored mightily to make this one of the best homepages on the Web (It has won the Looksmart Editor's Choice Award.). The site currently averages about 1,200 "hits" a day. On a personal note, I don't think a week went by this year when I didn't ask Bill to post something, add a group to the site, or do work that went well beyond the call of duty. Each request was honored with Bill's customary charm and competence. For example, just before the conference someone came up with the brainstorm to take pictures at the IPMAAC conference. The idea was that we could post the "candid" pictures on the homepage and allow all conference participants (and others) to view their friends and colleagues once they got back home. Bill's response was typical and I quote, "Neat idea. Let's make it happen. I'll take care of everything." (And he has taken care of it. Drop by the website for a visual reminder of the conference as well as copies of many of the presentations.) On behalf of all the membership, and all the users of IPMAAC Online, thank you, Bill Waldron.