honoring folks

[Adam Blatner]

So here's my plan.
      Although I have noted many of the old-time pioneers in my book, Foundations of Psychodrama, there wasn't enough room to do them justice. 
      This talk about Hannah Weiner reminds me... I've been asking this to go onto the ASGPP website, but ... well... it's been a push just to (finally!) get the award recipients listed!
     Now I want to do more: I want the recipients of all the awards to have posted somewhere---I'll put it on my website if nowhere else--- WHY these folks were given an award. That Joe Blow got a Zerka Moreno or J. L. Moreno Award and what year is nice to know, and having that mentioned is better than nothing, but for recognition to really work, we need an edited summary. It would be a mixture of the nomination letter and the notes of the person who spoke at the awards luncheon. Many of you have been in one of these roles, and could really help the process get rolling by sending me your notes:
       What award and who and what year; why did Jane Doe or John Smith merit that award. Let's try to begin to boil it down from over 1000 words to about 500 words. High points. I may have to do some ruthless editing. Still, 500 words is a whole lot better than just getting one's name listed. 

        Many of these materials seem to have been lost; the awards chairperson has moved on, gone incommunicado. (What ever happened to Shelley Alexander, anyway?) Or the files lost, computers crashed. It occurred to me not to be a victim, to just give up. If we can re-cap this for only a tenth of the people that is already progress. If you don't know, make something up. This would be a great sociometric exercise. 
        Why does your colleague or trainer merit the award they got, even if it was simply fellowship status?

     If you have information about yourself and you've received an award, send it to me: It won't be considered immodest. Folks deserve to be seen and heard and known for what they've actually done.
      I'd like to get parts of the summaries of the people who have become TEPs and CPs... again, I won't include everything there, but some stuff.     

   The point here is that most of our members don't know this!  Most folks don't attend every conference, and many who do attend miss the awards luncheon, so as a result, John or Jane just gets his name listed -- and even that's somewhat new--- but can't fully enjoy the recognition due, because s/he knows that most folks in the community have never heard about why they were deemed by their peers to richly deserve that award. 
        And indeed, this is part of what an organization does.
 
Alternatively, some of this perhaps could go onto the asgpp website directory.
   For example,  Jane Doe gets listed. and in the details, something about the fact that in 1988 she received the xyz award for (and go on for a hundred to three hundred words).

         In our home, when there's a big celebration dinner with family, we go around and thank not only the sources of the food, but acknowledge who set the table, who helped cook the meal, who will help with the dishes... so everyone can see how everyone belongs. Let's do this for our own membership.

         All this will require from you is that some time in the next year, at your leisure, write up something valid and kind that acknowledges what this friend, that acquaintance (and even this other person with whom you've had mixed tele) has accomplished that has helped the field and organization in some way. I'll edit and post these. 

        Whaddaya think?   Warmly, Adam Blatner, M.D.
   website: www.blatner.com/adam/   
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