The CFA Siamese Breed Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award


When an outstanding nomination is received, the CFA Siamese breed council may present the Lifetime Achievement Award to a breeder(s) who has(have) dedicated her/his career(s) to the welfare and advancement of the Siamese. This is the highest award the Siamese Breed Council can present to a breeder and thus it may not be given yearly. The intent is to recognize superior achievement and contributions to the Siamese breed.

 

Recipients have shown their devotion to the Siamese with a successful breeding program, skillful exhibition of high quality cats, participation in activities that promote, protect and advance the breed, and mentorship of other breeders. Previous winners include Marge Naples, Jeanne Singer, Harriet Little, Marion Butler, and Laina Aitken. These women are shining examples of breeders who have dedicated much of their lives to the Siamese and advanced the breed significantly through their efforts. The purpose of this document is to establish the guidelines and criteria for the Lifetime Achievement Award so that all future recipients meet that same level of quality and greatness.


Eligibility


To be nominated for this award, a breeder or partnership of breeders [1] must meet all of the following minimum requirements:

 

These minimum requirements are objective in nature, and a good breeder should be able to achieve this baseline easily in a 15+ year breeding program. However, the above items should not be viewed as meaning a breeder will automatically be honored with this award. The ideal recipient should have a far more distinguished resume that includes some of the following achievements:

 

Recipients do not need to have all of these accomplishments, but someone who is deserving of a Lifetime Achievement Award will have focused their career and achieved great success in several of these areas.

 

Nominating Committee


The breed council secretary will appoint a nominating committee of three Siamese breed council members, each from a different region. Any breed council member can nominate a Siamese breeder for the award by submitting an essay to any member of the committee, or to the breed council secretary who will forward the essay to the committee. The committee will review the essays and verify that the nominees meet the minimum requirements, and may reject any nomination they believe does not rise to the level of the Lifetime Achievement Award. The committee will choose one nominee (or two at their discretion) to present to the full breed council, then current members will vote to approve (or decide) the recipient by simple majority of ballots returned. In the event of a tie, both nominees will receive an award that year. There is no limit on how often someone can be nominated for the award, but no one can win the award more than once. If a committee member is nominated for the award, the breed council secretary will appoint a replacement for that member on the committee. Nominees may be resubmitted each year since the committee members could change. The committee will hold all nominations secret and will release only the nominee(s) to be voted on by the breed council.


If the committee feels that none of the nominees are yet deserving of a lifetime achievement award, they can reject all nominations with no award given that year. The committee will exercise great discretion when doing so, will carefully and impartially consider each nomination, and will present only worthy nominees to the breed council. If the committee feels a nominee that is a partnership is not really a partnership or would be better split into individual nominations, the committee can reject the nomination or request that the author change the nomination. If the committee receives no nominations, then there will be no award that year.


The purpose of the minimum requirements is to have a baseline that all nominees must meet. However, there may be situations where someone is clearly deserving of a Lifetime Achievement Award yet does not meet a particular minimum requirement. For example, a breeder may have achieved an advanced award for a cat that they bred under a cattery prefix other than their own. Such a situation could easily arise from a partnership arrangement with another breeder, and cooperation among breeders is to be encouraged not penalized. The committee can be flexible when a nominee fails to meet a minimum requirement if the committee believes the nominee has accomplished the intention of the requirement.


The Essay


Any breed council member can nominate a Siamese breeder or partnership by submitting an essay to the committee or breed council secretary. The essay should go into great detail describing the career of the nominee, and the author can use a resume format if he/she prefers. The essay must show how the nominee meets the minimum requirements, and should include a comprehensive description of all of the nominee’s relevant accomplishments and why those justify a Lifetime Achievement Award. If selected, this essay will be presented to the breed council, and for some members it may be the only information they have about the nominee. So the more detailed the information, the better chance the nominee has of being recognized with the award. The author should not assume the committee will fill in the details, but should also not hesitate to ask for assistance from anyone on the committee or from the breed council secretary.


Relevant Dates


The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented at the Siamese breed council meeting at the CFA Annual. Voting must be completed in time to acquire an appropriate award and in time to notify the recipient so that he/she can plan to be at the annual, so this timeline should be followed:


December 1st -- on or shortly before this date, the breed council secretary will choose the nominating committee and will ensure that each current breed council member and any that were eligible to vote in that year’s CFA balloting receives a copy of these guidelines and direction on where to send nominations
February 1st -- deadline for essays
April 1st -- ballots, including the selected essays, are mailed to breed council members; only breeders who have renewed their breed council membership by April 1st may vote; the breed council secretary will coordinate mailing the ballots through CFA central office if possible
May 1st -- deadline for receipt of ballots; ballots will be returned to the person who is coordinating the awards for the Annual meeting to expedite arrangements


[1] A partnership is two or more breeders that have a joint cattery and breeding program. If a partnership of breeders is nominated, that partnership is “the nominee”.

[2] A breed club is any CFA club that has “Siamese” in its name, is specifically devoted to the Siamese, and actively promotes the Siamese (or such a club that did so at some time while the nominee was a member).

 

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