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Call for Nominations:  Stephen E. Bemis Award

The International Personnel Management Association Assessment Council (IPMAAC) is seeking nominations for the 2001 Stephen E. Bemis Award. The IPMAAC Board will review the nominations received, and make one nomination for the award to the Bemis Award Committee. Other professional organizations, as well as individuals, also can make nominations for the award. The award will be presented at the June 2001 IPMAAC Annual Conference in Newport Beach, California.

The Stephen E. Bemis Award is a unique award in that it 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 B a practitioner who was deeply committed to the principles of merit and fitness. 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 means for employers to validate tests. Steve also recognized the value of tests to management B 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 experience. 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 other words, he cultivated networking before in became fashionable. Towards this end, he spearheaded the creation of the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington (PTC/MW) that was an overnight success. He also made himself available to share his knowledge as countless professional conferences, conventions, and meetings throughout the country with seemingly tireless energy.

Individuals nominated for this award should be current or retired professionals who most nearly emulate the three primary qualities for which Steve Bemis is remembered:

  1. Accomplished personnel measurement practitioners who are recognized for their on-going commitment to the principles of merit and fairness.

  2. Professionals who have made an impact in the field by their practical contribution(s) that have either resulted in an improved or new procedure; and

  3. Concerned individuals who are recognized for their commitment to assisting fellow practitioners, being available to them, and freely calling on them.

Unavoidably, the selection is affected by the quality of the submission. Those that provide minimum data cause the selection committee to rely more heavily on the knowledge of the committee members. Submissions that do not specifically explain how all three of the requirements are met are particularly disadvantaged because one requirement does not compensate for another. Nominees need not be members of the International Personnel Management Association Assessment Council.

Recipients of this award may have made an impact in the field by one contribution or by numerous contributions. The selection committee is less concerned with numbers than it is with quality.

There are many talented individuals who are highly respected in the field of personnel testing who deserve to be recognized for a myriad of reasons. There are other awards that are designed to recognize such areas as outstanding research or academic achievement. This award is intended to recognize those individuals who most closely mirror the three primary qualities that characterized Steve Bemis. This award is limited to persons who apply research in the practical arena and assist their fellow professionals.

To submit a nomination to IPMAAC please use the following procedure:

  1. Submit a narrative that does not exceed four (4) pages of single spaced type on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper.

  2. On the first page include:

    • The name, address, telephone number, FAX number and Email address of the nominee.

    • The names, addresses, telephone numbers, FAX numbers, and Email addresses of two (2) individuals who are familiar with the contributions and personal qualifies of the nominee.

    • The name, address, telephone number, FAX number, and Email address of the person who prepared the nomination (if different from above).

  3. On the remaining pages provide:

    • A demonstration of the nominee=s on-going commitment to the principles of merit and fairness in personnel assessment.

    • Examples of practical contribution(s) to the field of personnel measurement.

    • A description of how the nominee personally assisted fellow practitioners.

Please provide as much pertinent data as possible within the confines of the space permitted. It is advisable to include information regarding the results of the nominee=s contribution(s) and actions, as well as a description of the contribution itself.

It is preferred that nominations be submitted by email in Microsoft Word format.

Send Nominations to IPMAAC, by March 16, 2001 care of:

Charles F. Sproule, Director
Sproule & Associates
Personnel Assessment Consulting Service
641 Cambria Ave.
Harrisburg, PA 17111
Email: sproule@worldnet.att.net

Individuals and other organizations can also submit nominations directly to the Bemis Awards Committee, by March 31, 2000, care of:

Lynne L. Jantz
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Personnel Bureau
101 E. Convention Center Dr., Suite P-200
Las Vegas, NV 89109
L2899J@LVMPD.com

Stephen E. Bemis Memorial Award
Past Recipients

2000 Robert Guion
1999 James Johnson
1998 Donna Denning
1997 Doris Maye
1996 Jim Sharf
1995 Richard McKillip
1994 Wayne Cascio
1993 Anita Ford
1992 Nancy Abrams
1991 Barbara Showers
1990 Karen Coffee
1989 Bruce Davey
1988 Al Maslow
1987 Ted Darany
1986 Glenn McClung & Charles Sproule

© Copyright 2001 by the IPMA Assessment Council. All rights reserved.