The Stephen E. Bemis Memorial Award is a unique award that is intended to reflect on both the tangible contributions that Steve Bemis provided to our profession AND on the open, caring attitude that characterized his personality. It was designed to serve as a perpetual reminder of the qualities that caused his colleagues to admire him.

First, and foremost, Steve Bemis was a practitioner--a practitioner who was deeply committed to the principles of merit and fairness. His primary concerns centered on the need to develop tests that were truly job related and did not unfairly discriminate against any group.

Steve's contributions were practical in nature. He improved upon job analysis techniques and published his results to assist his fellow practitioners. He recognized the extent to which evaluations of Training and Experience highlighted quantity as opposed to quality. Thus, he was one of the initial contributors to the Behavioral Consistency Method. He understood the impossibility of requiring employers to demonstrate empirical validity for all of their tests and joined the fight to elevate the status of content validity as a viable means for employers to validate tests. Steve also recognized the value of tests to management--and the need for management support. As such, he helped publicize the cost utility of employment testing.

Among his many attributes, Steve is most remembered for the friendship he generously gave to his fellow practitioners. He encouraged junior analysts to acquire more knowledge, and he motivated those who had been in the field for many years to share their experiences. Practitioners from across the nation knew that when they called Steve with a technical problem, he would somehow find the answer or the person who had it. In large part, he cultivated networking before it became fashionable. Toward this end, he spearheaded the creation of the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington (PTC/MW), which was an overnight success. He also made himself available to share his knowledge at countless professional conferences, conventions, and meetings throughout the country with seemingly tireless energy.