The Colonel (Retired) Robert “Bobby” B. Burke Award
Criteria for Award Submission
Purpose: The Colonel (Retired) Robert “Bobby” B. Burke “ Award is bestowed upon members of the ROCKS, Incorporated who meet the criteria established in the succeeding paragraphs.
Background: Colonel (Retired) Robert “Bobby” Burke served for 22 years before retiring at the rank of Colonel. He was a bright, affable person with an ever-present smile on his face, and he had an infectious personality that made people want to be in his company. If a problem needed solving, COL Burke always seemed to have a solution. Whenever someone needed help, be it concerning a job, friendly advice, or whatever, he was always there to lend a hand. … Clearly COL Burke was the ultimate “people person” and an excellent role model. Colonel (Ret) Burke demonstrated humility, yet magnificence as both a man behind the scenes and one who accomplished many endeavors. He served as the catalyst, initiator, ultimate support pillar, and the inspiration to make the right things happen for the greater good.
Bobby B. Burke Award Selection Committee (BBBASC): The BBBASC consists of all previous recipients of the Bobby B. Burke Award. The BBBASC is a special committee appointed by the National Chairman of the Board. Committee members, whether assigned locally or not, are afforded the opportunity to provide input to the selection of the recipients.
General Procedures
Nominations: Each chapter is asked to submit at least one candidate to the BBBASC,
to the attention of the Chairman, Bobby B. Burke Award Committee, 2550 Huntington Avenue, Suite 203, Alexandria, Virginia 22303, by December 31st of each year. Interest Groups may not compete for this award, however once the Interest Group becomes an officially recognized Chapter, the efforts of the prospective candidate may be included as evidence to substantiate the contributions of the prospective awardee(s).
Application Submission Process: Applications may be submitted as early as November 1st of each year, and not later than December 31st . Applications may be either submitted electronically by December 31st , and/or they may be mailed (postmarked no later than December 20th) to the ROCKS, Incorporated Administrative Office so that they are received by the established deadline of December 31st. If mailed, the application must be submitted in 1 (one) hardcopy and 1 (one) 3.5 floppy disk. This is necessary to facilitate distributing the award submission to the BBBASC members. Applications that are received after the deadline are not eligible for consideration for the year of review, and will not be retained on file, but will be returned to the submitting organization. (Example: In order to be selected for the March 2003 presentation, a candidate’s application packet could be submitted as early as November 1, 2002 and no later than December 20, 2002 if mailed, or December 31, 2002 if submitted electronically).
Nomination Packet Processing: By the end of the 1st week in January of the succeeding year in which the packets are submitted, the ROCKS, Inc. administrative office will forward the electronic and/or mailed packets to the Chairman, BBBASC. Applications will be screened to ensure they meet the established criteria for the award. Applications that do not meet the criteria will be returned to the submitting organization with a letter from the C, BBBASC that identifies the deficiency. During the second week of January, the qualifying applications will be mailed to the BBBASC members for review. Between the third week of January, and no later than the end of January, the committee will meet to review and vote on the nominations.
Voting Process: All past recipients of the Bobby B. Burke Award are members of the selection committee. Committee members must be in overall good standing with the ROCKS, Incorporated to qualify their vote. A member in good standing is one who is financially current, actively engaged in the ROCKS, Incorporated as demonstrated through meetings/event attendance, or projects and programs. He/She demonstrates good moral character. Members who are geographically located in the National Capitol Region will meet, at the call of the Chairman, BBBASC to deliberate. This will be known as the official selection meeting for prospective BBBASC candidates. Members who are not in the National Capitol Region will submit their written vote directly (electronically, by fax, by mail) to the Chairman, BBBASC. A member who is not geographically located in the NCR may elect to, or not to, submit written justification or rationale for the manner in which he/she voted. The absent member’s vote will remain undisclosed until the official meeting of the BBBASC. In the event that a voting member is deployed or unable to participate due to prolonged illness but meets all other requirements, he or she will be permitted to submit one vote, by proxy, through the Chairman, BBBASC.
Award Notification: A slate of selected candidates will be prepared. Upon adjournment of the official BBBASC meeting, the Chairman, BBBASC will sign the slate of names for those considered and those selected. Members attending the official voting meeting will also sign the document. This document becomes the official notification to the Chairman, National Board of the selected recipients. Once the Chairman, BBBASC submits the names of the recipients to the Chairman, National Board, and the selectees are considered “official” selections, the Chairman, BBBASC will notify the ROCKS, Inc administration Office to send a letter to the recipients, and to their Chapter President, where applicable, notifying both of the award. The Chairman, BBBASC will also acknowledge non-recipients by forwarding a letter of appreciation. The BBBASC deliberations are considered private, and will only be disclosed to the Chairman, National Board at his/her request.
Award Acceptance: The recipient is expected to be present in the forum in which the award is presented. In the recipient’s absence, the Chapter President or his/her designated representative may receive the award. Where the recipient qualifies and is selected un the “Special Eligibility” rules, the sponsor for the recipient will accept the award in the recipient’s absence. The local chapter/individual member is responsible for aiding the recipient to acquire the award.
Specific Guidance and Selection Criteria:
Eligibility: The prospective awardee(s) will be of the rank of Captain through Lieutenant Colonel (not in a promotable status). The application packet must be endorsed by the President of the Local Chapter, and be submitted in accordance with the above prescribed submission procedures. All nominations will follow this procedure in order to be eligible, with the exception of those who may qualify under the special eligibility paragraph.
Special Eligibility: Where the prospective nominee is not geographically near a chapter, but is making substantial contributions to the ROCKS, Incorporated, and is a member in good standing, who meets all other selection criteria, he/she must be sponsored by, and obtain a letter of endorsement from a Committee Chairperson at the National Capitol Region level or the Board of Directors level. The nomination, along with the letter of endorsement, must be submitted within the prescribed submission procedures to qualify for review. Nominees who are assigned where a chapter exists do no qualify under the special eligibility rule.
Selections: The committee will review all qualified nominations, and has established a range for the number of awardees at 0 to 25% may be selected; that is, at least one nomination will be awarded, but not more than 25% of qualified nominations may be selected. A member in overall good standing is defined as a financially current, actively engaged in the organization at either the local or national level, as demonstrated through meeting/event attendance, or project and programs submitted at the local and/or national level, and has good moral character.
The prospective candidate(s) will have demonstrated in not less than one year, and not more than three years, the following attributes in addition to the contributions he or she has made to the local and National organization:
a. Loyalty: The candidate will be a member in overall good standing in
his/her community, unit, and local Chapter of the ROCKS, Inc. thereby bearing true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, his/her respective unit, his/her soldiers, and to the local chapter of ROCKS, Inc.
b. Duty: The candidate will be a member in overall good standing with the
local Chapter of the ROCKS, Incorporated, and will be an active participant in at least one of the organization’s committees thereby fulfilling obligations to the Army and to the ROCKS, Inc. The candidate will demonstrate his her contribution to the organization by demonstrating his/her ability as one who is capable of independently developing and executing initiatives that contribute to the organization’s vision. He/she must have demonstrated that he/she identified a problem, developed options, presented conclusions and recommendations, and either supported execution of, or executed the initiative through its completion.
c. Respect: The candidate will have gone above treating people as they
should be treated by showing him/herself to be one who has the interest and well-being of others as their foremost concern, and an exceptional role model.
d. Selfless Service: The candidate will demonstrate, through community
service projects hosted by the local chapter of the ROCKS, Inc. that he/she has contributed to making the Army, the community, and the ROCKS, Inc. a better organization.
e. Honor: The candidate will demonstrate that he/she has lived up to all
of the Army’s values, and the values of the ROCKS, Inc.; that is, Professionalism, Concern, Dedication.
f. Integrity: The candidate will demonstrate that he/she knows how to do
what is right, regardless of what others may think, morally, legally, and ethically.
g. Personal Courage: The candidate will have demonstrated that he/she
is a person of principle, and is able to stand firm in his/her moral, physical, legal, and ethical beliefs.
BOBBY. B. BURKE AWARD SELECTION COMMITTEE
SLATE OF CANDIDATES
(In Alphabetical Order)
Officer Bobby B. Burke Awardee
Officer Bobby B. Burke Awardee
Respectfully Submitted,
Willie L. Hensley
Chairman, Bobby B. Burke
Award Selection Committee
Bobby G. Henry, Jr. 1991
Robert S. Ferrell 1992
Debra A. Thedford 1992
Willie L. Hensley 1993
Suzanne R. Walker 1994
Karen Dixon 1995
Denise J. Anderson 1996
Antonio Coleman 1997
John McLeod III 1997
Dorene Hurt 1998
LaWarren V. Patterson 1999
Charles Harris 1999
Richard A. Wilson 2000
Angela Farnell 2001
Garry Powell 2001
Detrick L. Briscoe 2002
Charles Holden 2003
Hubert E. Bagley 2004
Myles B. Caggins 2005
Elgin Allmond 2006
Bichson Bush 2007
Rafeal Boyd 2008
Sample Letters - Recipient
ROCKS, Incorporated Chapter
ATTN: President
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip Code
RE: Bobby B. Burke Award Selection
Dear ____________________ (Chapter President):
On behalf of the Chairman, National Board of Directors, ROCKS, Incorporated, it is my distinct pleasure to announce _____________________, a member of the ___________ is a 200X recipient of the Bobby B. Burke Award.
As you know, this award is presented to the recipient during the Spring Formal and Awards Banquet. This years banquet is scheduled for April 5, 2008 at the Fort Belvoir Officer’s Club. We hope that you and ________________ will be able to attend the banquet, and are looking forward to an opportunity to personally congratulate and present this award.
Again, congratulations to ________________ for a job well done!
Willie L. Hensley
Chairman, Bobby B. Burke
Awards Selection Committee
Sample Letters - Candidate
ROCKS, Incorporated Chapter
ATTN: President
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip Code
RE: Bobby B. Burke Award
Dear ____________________ (Chapter President):
On behalf of the Chairman, National Board of Directors, ROCKS, Incorporated, I take this opportunity to thank the members of the XXXX Chapter, ROCKS, Incorporated for nominating ____ as candidate for the Bobby B. Burke Award.
We are pleased to know about officers in the organization who are strong contributors to the progress of the ROCKS, Incorporated, and although ________ was not selected as a recipient, we want to encourage him/her, and encourage your Chapter to continue to represent the goals and ideals that sustain this organization. We hope to have the opportunity to meet you during the upcoming Spring Formal and Awards Banquet, and we look forward to continuing to work with you for our noble cause.
Willie L. Hensley
Chairman, Bobby B. Burke
Awards Selection Committee