Welcome! This is your entrance to ACI's annual awards contest. Award winners for 2016 were announced at the Indiana conference July 12, 2017 and are available on ACI's website. The next contest will open in January 2018. Check back for details!

We are the only nationwide competition exclusively for education, information and public relations professionals who specialize in conservation. Our members work at state and federal agencies and conservation organizations. This contest recognizes excellence in 28 categories and promotes craft improvement through competition. Winners are announced at the annual summer conference.

To enter the 2017 contest, your agency or organization must be a member in good standing, which means your dues must be paid by Dec. 31, 2017. Check with Treasurer Judy Stokes if you have any question about whether your agency is a member in good standing.

To eliminate the cost and hassle of mailing entries — and take advantage of the latest technology — ACI's contest moved to this online platform for the 2016 contest year. All entries must be submitted in electronic format. Learn more about ACI or find the results of past contests at ACI-net.org/awards.

What else is new?

• To ensure that ACI can cover the cost of an online contest, the membership agreed to raise the entry fee from $30 to $40 per entry. The payment process has not changed.
• Instead of the traditional category chairs (one per category), we have a six-person support team ready to help you with the process. Each "group chair" is responsible for a group of categories (for example, the Magazine Group chair is now responsible for the five magazine categories).
• All entries and winners will be available for viewing online after winners are announced. We expect to accomplish this by Aug. 1, 2017.
• We have reactivated the Video PSA category.
• We've split the Graphics category into two; one for advertising/display, the other for layout. The advertising/display category is for graphics with few elements, in which text is not dominant (for example, a logo or billboard). The layout category is for designs with many elements, in which text plays a major role (for example, a sign or magazine article).

How do I get started?

• There's nothing to do right now except be doing good work and thinking about what you plan to enter next January!

At any time, if you have question about this contest, please contact me. I'm happy to help!

~Julie Hammonds, outgoing Awards Committee Chair, Arizona
(480) 332-0183 or hammonds.julie.c+ACI@gmail.com