Information
 Register

 

Conference Highlights 2006 About HAC Conference Information Workshop Descriptions Conference At A Glance Award Nominations
Sponsor Information Marketing Information Exhibitor Information Feedback HAC Home Conference Home

CONFERENCE AWARDS INFORMATION

HAC's National Rural Housing Conference 2008

Working for Change: Building our Future

December 3-5, 2008, Preconference Activities December 2

On the evening of December 4, 2008, the Housing Assistance Council will present three rural housing awards. An individual or individuals providing outstanding and enduring service on the national level will be honored with the Clay Cochran Award for Distinguished Service in Housing for the Rural Poor. A local leader or leaders in rural housing development will receive the Skip Jason Community Service Award. For the first time this year, a publicly elected official will be recognized with the new Henry B. Gonzalez Award. Award recipients will receive stipends.

Click here to learn more about previous award recipients.

National Service Award

The Clay Cochran Award for Distinguished Service in Housing for the Rural Poor honors individuals who have provided outstanding and enduring service, with national impact, for the betterment of housing conditions for the rural poor.

The award is named after Clay Cochran, a mentor and pioneer in the rural housing movement. Dr. Cochran's work in low-income rural housing goes back to the 1930s and 1940s. He founded the Rural Housing Alliance and Rural America. Dr. Cochran passed away in 1982.

Previous winnersof this award include Clay Cochran, Obediah Baker, Peter Carey, Gordon Cavanaugh, Art Collings, Eileen Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Herring, Robert Rapoza, Arnold Sternberg, Cushing Dolbeare and three members of Congress: Eva Clayton, Stan Lundine and Bennie Thompson.

Criteria for Competition

Significant achievements and/or contributions in any or all of the following areas:

  • Leadership in national housing organizations;
  • Substantial impact on national housing legislation;
  • Improving or maintaining funding for rural housing programs that serve the poor, particularly the poorest of the poor;
  • Development of new housing programs, preservation of housing programs, or special adaptations to existing programs, which enhance service to the rural poor;
  • Improving advocacy and/or enhancing coalition building that leads to improved rural housing opportunities;
  • Overall enduring service with a national impact towards improving conditions of the ill-housed rural poor, particularly the poorest of the poor.

Community Service Award

The Skip Jason Community Service Award acknowledges people whose efforts have improved the housing conditions of the rural poor in their communities. The award acknowledges people who work "in the trenches" and usually go unrecognized outside their communities.

The award is named after Robert "Skip" Jason, a long-time housing activist with considerable community experience, who died in 1982 while employed as HAC's Government Services Director.

Prior recipients include David Arizmendi, Clanton Beamon, Guillermo Castaneda, Cora Esquibel, Rose Garcia, Arturo C. Gonzales, Dana M. Jones, Barbara Lamphere, Jerome Little, Steve Mainster, Rito Medina, Madeline Miller, Polly Nichol, John "Jack" Rivel, Jr., Ted Smith, Lauretta Brice Stephens, Bessie Swan, Mario Villanueva, Jim Wilcox, Dwayne Yost, and John Zippert.

Criteria for Competition

Significant achievements and/or contributions in any or all of the following areas:

  • Improving the housing conditions of the rural poor in their communities and protecting and enhancing the rights of the poor in housing;
  • Community achievement in community development and/or housing;
  • Unrecognized efforts that extend outside recipient’s community;
  • Increasing the number of housing units produced or preserving existing affordable housing;
  • Producing innovative or difficult housing;
  • Advocating for affordable housing;
  • Any other specific and significant community contribution in the field of low-income rural housing.

Elected Official Award

The Henry B. Gonzalez Award recognizes individuals who have contributed to the improvement of housing conditions for low-income rural Americans through elected office.

The award is named for Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez, who represented the 20th District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1961 until ill health forced him to retire in 1998. Beginning in 1981, he chaired first the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development and eventually the full Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs (now the Financial Services Committee). In these powerful positions he championed numerous bills to improve housing conditions for people in both urban and rural areas. Rep. Gonzalez passed away in 2000.

Criteria for Competition

Significant achievements and/or contributions in any or all of the following areas:

  • Interest in and legislative work on affordable rural housing, including sponsorship of legislation;
  • Substantial impact on national or state housing legislation;
  • Support for USDA, HUD, and other programs that serve rural America's housing needs, including support for increased funding for those programs;
  • Legislative leadership on above issues, both in key positions and as an author and sponsor of bills;
  • Executive leadership on rural housing issues at the federal or state level;
  • Bipartisan work and representation;
  • Representation of high-need areas and/or rural areas;
  • Work with key local partners;
  • Active participation in oversight hearings and agency oversight;
  • Work to improve or maintain funding for low-income rural housing programs;
  • Development of new housing programs for the rural poor or improvements to existing programs.

Nominations Process

All nomination submissions must include:

  • Nominee's name, title, organization, address, telephone/fax number, and email address
  • Nominee's years of service in rural housing
  • Nominator's name, title, organization, address, telephone/fax number, and email address
  • A one- to two-page narrative stating why the person being nominated deserves the specified award. The narrative should also specifically identify accomplishments and/or contributions for which the nominee should be recognized. Please format the narrative according to the criteria for competition outlined under the particular award.

Additional materials (newspaper clippings, letters of support, photographs, nominee's resume, etc.) may be submitted in support of the narrative. Please limit additional information to no more than six items.

Nominations:

  • May be submitted by anyone.
  • Must be submitted by mail. Sorry, emails and faxes cannot be accepted.
  • Must be postmarked by September 15, 2008.
  • Should be mailed to:
    Housing Assistance Council
    2008 Awards Committee
    Attn: Lilla Sutton, Executive Coordinator
    1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Suite 606
    Washington, DC 20005

Selection Process

  • A committee of HAC board members and staff will review nominations and make recommendations to the full Board of Directors.
  • HAC's Board of Directors will review committee recommendations and select recipients.
  • Recipients will be notified, in advance, by phone and presented with awards at the National Rural Housing Conference 2008 to be held on December 3-5, 2008 in Washington, D.C. Recipients will also receive stipends and waivers of conference registration fees.

For further information, please contact Lilla Sutton by phone at 202-842-8600, ext. 113 or by email at lilla@ruralhome.org.