Each year the Utah Museums Association presents awards to honor individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to Utah Museums. Deadline to submit an award nominations is June 30, 2023. All nominations must be submitted using form below. 

The awardees will be honored at the Awards Dinner on September 21, 2023 held in conjunction with the Annual Conference. 

General Award Criteria:
All award recipients will be expected to attend the awards dinner to accept the award.
Current UMA Board Members are not eligible for individual nominations.

BESSIE JONES VOLUNTEER AWARD 
This award recognizes a volunteer or volunteers whose active support of the mission or program of a Utah Museum resulted in significant institutional impact.  Nomination must clearly describe the impact of the volunteer, include the scope of work and time served (minimum of 80 hours).

PHIL NOTARIANNI DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD 
This award is given to an individual who has shown exceptional dedication, provided lengthy service, or an intense and tangible commitment to Utah's museum community. Nomination must include a description of accomplishments or services provided. This award is conferred only once per individual.

PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD 
This award is given to an individual who has served or is serving in a governmental capacity that in the scope of their duties has rendered vital assistance or support to Utah's museum community. Nominees are not limited to State Legislators or employees, but could include teachers, local officials or agency employees. This award does not need to reflect statewide service, but could apply to a specific museum or support within a county or region. Nomination must include a description of services provided.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE 
This award is given to an individual, team, or organization that has shown superior achievement in any aspect of the museum field during the previous 18 months within Utah's museum community. Areas of achievement include, but are not limited to, excellence in administration, advocacy, exhibits, education, collections, preservation/conservation, visitor services, fundraising, professional development, etc. The award will read "Award to Excellence in [achievement area]". Award will only be given in one area each year. Nomination must include scope of work and provide compelling reasons why the nominee's (individual or organization) project or achievement deserves statewide recognition. Activities for nomination must be directly involved within Utah's museum community. Recipient may not receive an Award for Excellence in consecutive years, and not more than once for a project.

RISING PROFESSIONAL AWARD 
This award is given to rising, current museum professionals (students or museum employees) whose work to date demonstrates a commitment to excellence in the field and their commitment to Utah's museum community. The Rising Professional Award will be given in either the student or employee category, not both. Nominee may not be a previous recipient of this award.

     Student Nominee Criteria:
         a. A currently enrolled university/college student or recent graduate pursuing a career in the museum field
         b. Involved in the day-to-day museum operations for over 500 hours (6 months @ 20 hrs/wk) through employment, internship, volunteering, or any combination of the above.
         c. Contributions to the field through documented significant contribution to a Utah museum project and/or research and publication/presentation of significance to Utah museums.

     Employee Nominee Criteria:
         a. Museum Employee who either has less than 10 years of experience as a museum employee or has recently changed areas in the museum field and is re-emerging as a museum professional.
         b. Contributed to the field through documented significant contribution to a Utah museum's project and/or sustained involvement in aiding professional development through presenting in multiple conference presentations (including posters) or training workshops. 

The time has come to nominate your colleagues and/or yourself for one of our annual awards! Do you know someone whose volunteer work has made all the difference to your museum? Someone whose continued service has impacted the life of your institution? A government official or teacher whose help has been instrumental in getting our museums support? How about someone newer to the field who is deeply committed to Utah museums and excellence? Or a person, group, or institution whose all-around exceptional work deserves recognition? We want to hear from you!

You are welcome to nominate yourself or others. We have an incredibly vibrant and diverse museum community here in Utah and all people and institutions are encouraged to apply.

Awards are available in the following areas:

The Bessie Jones Volunteer Award: This award recognizes a volunteer or volunteers whose active support of the mission or program of a Utah Museum resulted in significant institutional impact.

The Phil Notarianni Distinguished Service Award: This award is given to an individual who has shown exceptional dedication, provided lengthy service, or an intense and tangible commitment to Utah's museum community.

The Public Service Award: This award is given to an individual who has served or is serving in a governmental capacity that in the scope of their duties has rendered vital assistance or support to Utah's museum community.

The Rising Professional Award: This award is given to rising, current museum professionals (students or museum employees) whose work to date demonstrates a commitment to excellence in the field and their commitment to Utah's museum community.

The Award for Excellence: This award is given to an individual, team, or organization that has shown superior achievement in any aspect of the museum field during the previous 18 months within Utah's museum community.

Award nominations are due by June 1, 2019. Submit your nomination here!

This is a great opportunity to cheer for each other and highlight the amazing work the members of the UMA community have done and continue to do. We can’t wait to read your nominations!

But if you’re looking for a life of excitement, adventure, mystery, and a little romance, then an award-filled life is the life for you. Let’s make it happen! That’s right, you guessed it, it’s awards nominations time. Count me back in!

We are looking for people like you (yes, YOU—look into a mirror (or your reflection on your cell phone screen) to nominate people or organizations that have made significant contributions to Utah Museums. We know you know those people and organizations.

There are several nomination categories, and no, they aren’t the same as your senior class superlatives. We aren’t looking for who you think will be US President someday or who might end up with the most kids. We don’t even want you to nominate who you think should be the NBA Rookie of the Year (because we already know that Donavan Mitchel should will be the one getting that award—we hope).

Here are the real award categories:

Bessie Jones Volunteer Award. We’re looking for all-star caliber volunteers that have had at least 80 hours of volunteering. 79 hours won’t cut it!

Phil Notarianni Distinguished Service Award. Who’s that person who has made a Paul Bunyan sized impact on Utah Museums? You can’t nominate Babe the Big Blue Ox, because Babe isn’t a person. Sorry, Babe!

Public Service Award. Think Abraham Lincoln, but on a smaller scale.

Award for Excellence. This one can go to any individual, team, organization, flock, pod, pride, school, pack, litter, or prickle (yes, a group of porcupines is called a prickle!) that has shown superior achievement in the past 18 months in any aspect of the museum field, such as administration, advocacy, zymology, exhibits, education, collections, xylology, preservation/conservation, visitor services, parapsychology, fundraising, professional development, or xenoarchaeology.

Rising Professional Award. Think 14-year old Justin Bieber . . . ok, never mind.

This kind of nomination excitement has no time for delays. Unless you want to live an “Ah, shucks!” kind of life, you need to submit your nominations by June 1, 2018. (In case you’ve forgotten, June 1 is mere days away.)

To submit your nominations and to learn more about the awards from someone that wasn’t pumped full of sugar-free lemonade, go here:

Congratulations, you’ve made it to the end of this blog post. I commend you and also lament with you that you can’t have those two minutes back. But such is life.

Happy Nominating!

UMA Award Nominations Due June 2, 2017

By: Paul Stavast, Director of BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures

As I was driving to work this morning, the sun was just coming over the Wasatch mountains.  Its light and energy were filling the valley.  The experience led me to think about colleagues in the Utah museum community who have impacted me. When I hear about projects they are working on or see them at events advocating and supporting museums, my day brightens from their light, commitment, and energy.  

The UMA annual awards are our opportunity to recognize colleagues who make such an impact in our individual museums and in the wider Utah museum community.  Don’t wait, submit your nominations for this year’s awards so all of us can be filled with the energy you see around you.

Below are summaries of the awards.  For the full description and to submit nominations, click here. Help us celebrate the great people in our field!

BESSIE JONES VOLUNTEER AWARD

This award recognizes a volunteer or volunteers whose active support of the mission or program of a UMA Member Museum resulted in significant institutional impact. 

PHIL NOTARIANNI DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

This award is given to an individual who has shown exceptional dedication, provided lengthy service, or an intense and tangible commitment to Utah's museum community.

PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

This award is given to an individual who has served or is serving in a governmental capacity that in the scope of their duties has rendered vital assistance or support to Utah's museum community. Nominees are not limited to State Legislators or employees, but could include teachers, local officials or agency employees.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

This award is given to an individual, team, or organization that has shown superior achievement in any aspect of the museum field during the previous 18 months within Utah's museum community. Areas of achievement include, but are not limited to, excellence in administration, advocacy, exhibits, education, collections, preservation/conservation, visitor services, fundraising, professional development, etc.

RISING PROFESSIONAL AWARD

This award is given to rising, current museum professionals (students or museum employees) whose work to date demonstrates a commitment to excellence in the field and their commitment to Utah's museum community.

By: Paul Stavast, Director of BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures

Time is running out. Only a few brief days left for you to submit nominations for this year’s awards.  Before the bar-b-ques, vacations, and lazy days on the beach begin in earnest, let’s all take a moment and reflect on the splendor of Utah’s museum community.

Ahhh... that was nice. Ok, now with those images of excellence and service fresh in your mind, click here to submit your nominations. Your colleagues deserve the recognition. I enjoy reading your submissions and learning about the wonderful people accomplishing amazing things throughout the state. It is a highlight of my service on the board.  A big Thank You to all of you for your dedication to our communities through your museums.

The nomination form, a complete description of each award, and award criteria can be found on the UMA awards webpage. 

Nominations for UMA awards will be through June 1st.

As a brief reminder UMA’s awards are:

BESSIE JONES VOLUNTEER AWARD – given to a volunteer or volunteers who have actively supported the mission or program of a UMA Member Museum and volunteered at least 80 hours.

PHIL NOTARIANNI DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD – given to an individual who has shown exceptional dedication, provided lengthy service, or an intense and tangible commitment to Utah's museum community.

PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD – given to an individual who has served or is serving in a governmental capacity that in the scope of their duties has rendered vital assistance or support to Utah's museum community.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE – given to an individual, team, or organization that has shown superior achievement in any aspect of the museum field during the previous 18 months within Utah's museum community.

RISING PROFESSIONAL AWARD – given to rising, current museum professionals (students or museum employees) whose work to date demonstrates a commitment to excellence in the field and their commitment to Utah's museum community.

Paul Stavast is Director of BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures, teaches courses in Museum Practices at BYU and currently serves on the Utah Museums Association Board.

By: Paul Stavast

Recently, students passing by my desk have noticed a significant change, well to be honest two changes:  first, my homage to Megamind; and second, the towering forest of papers is gone. (I’ll spare you the details and just say that Megamind is the greatest super villain ever to have their heart changed because of museums).

As I was going through the papers, a mix of forgotten items revealed themselves. A letter. A folder. A brochure. Each represented a colleague and projects they have been involved with recently.  I often find inspiration from my colleagues. You might even call them Super Colleagues. They overcome trials, shatter personal barriers, and have the insight to lead others. To borrow again from Megamind, what’s the difference between a colleague and a Super Colleague . . . . Presentation!

You can help give them the presentation they deserve as an award recipient at the 2016 UMA Conference. Now is the time to share the stories of those individuals and institutions in Utah who deserve to be honored. Nominate your colleagues for a 2016 UMA award.  The nomination form, a complete description of each award, and award criteria can be found on the UMA awards webpage. 

Nominations for UMA awards will be accepted from April 1st to June 1st.

As a brief reminder UMA’s awards are:

BESSIE JONES VOLUNTEER AWARD – given to a volunteer or volunteers who have actively supported the mission or program of a UMA Member Museum and volunteered at least 80 hours.

PHIL NOTARIANNI DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD – given to an individual who has shown exceptional dedication, provided lengthy service, or an intense and tangible commitment to Utah's museum community.

PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD – given to an individual who has served or is serving in a governmental capacity that in the scope of their duties has rendered vital assistance or support to Utah's museum community.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE – given to an individual, team, or organization that has shown superior achievement in any aspect of the museum field during the previous 18 months within Utah's museum community.

RISING PROFESSIONAL AWARD – given to rising, current museum professionals (students or museum employees) whose work to date demonstrates a commitment to excellence in the field and their commitment to Utah's museum community.

Paul Stavast is Director of BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures, teaches courses in Museum Practices at BYU and currently serves on the Utah Museums Association Board.

By: Paul Stavast

Nomination mojo not what it should be?  Frustrated that you haven’t yet submitted an award nomination? Here are 6 quick steps to rejuvenate and get those 2015 UMA Award nominations flowing in.

Step 1. Take a deep breath—while slowly exhaling, envision an experience during the last year where you were awe struck, encouraged, lifted up, or content because of a Utah museum or museum colleague.

Step 2. Focus your mind’s eye on that experience or person—as the image solidifies, begin to move your body toward the nearest electronic device with an internet connection.

Step 3.  Carefully move your fingers with a steady up-down rhythm on the keys to create the following pattern http://www.utahmuseums.org/?page=awardnominations (or gently click the link).

Step 4.  Recall that experience as you read the webpage.  Deeply search your inner thoughts and open your mind to discover the award that matches the aura of your experience.

Step 5.  Use the energy you found from divining the perfect match between nominee and award to complete the form at the bottom of the page.

Step 6.  Hit the submit button and bask in the satisfying glow that you have done a good thing. 

Repeat as necessary until August 15, 2015.  Intensity of feeling may increase with each submission.

Note-These steps are not intended as medical or mental health advice.  Feelings of happiness and contentment may not be a direct result of following these actions.  UMA has reviewed these statements and concurs that Utah museums will be better off as the number of individuals following these steps increases.

Registration is open for the UMA Annual Conference, so go ahead and register while you're making your nominations! Registration and information about this year's conference can be found here. 

Paul Stavast is Director of BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures, teaches courses in Museum Practices at BYU and currently serves on the Utah Museums Association Board.

By Paul Stavast

Recently, as I’ve been scrolling through various social media accounts I noticed the sheer number of quizzes available to help me figure out what Disney princess, Star Wars character, or vegetable I am (Belle, C-3PO, rutabaga, if you’re wondering).  So today, I’m offering you a quiz that suits Utah museum professionals. Take the quiz to find out which 2015 UMA Award you should nominate others for.

1.        What is your favorite type of museum?

a.       Natural History—you love to see things from nature

b.      Planetarium—your mind is always a vacuum

c.       Art—you like to ponder deeply

d.      History—you like digging through others’ personal things

2.       How far will you drive to visit a museum?

a.       0 mins-My house is so full of junk I live in a museum

b.      15 mins—I like quick trips

c.       1 hr—Set me up, I’m making a morning of it.

d.      2 hr—Kids are coming along, they’ve got to be more cultured

3.       Which animal best describes how you visit museums?

a.       Chameleon—I go slow and blend in

b.      Mosquito—I buzz around quickly and when I find something juicy, I suck the life out of it

c.       Pill Bug—I may move quickly but if anyone bumps into me I rollup and wait for them to leave.

d.      Ant—I am the scout, I lay down a scent trail and my entire entourage follows me to the sweet stuff.

4.       How do you prefer to advocate for museums?

a.       I can’t stop talking about museums, my mayor, legislators and significant other can quote my museum’s mission statement

b.      I frequently blog about the great experiences visitors have at my museum

c.       I write thank-you notes Jimmy Fallon style each Friday

d.      I attend Museum Day at the Capitol each February

e.      I talk to my friends about museums

Congratulations for answering the questions.  You are now extra qualified to submit nominations for the 2015 UMA Awards.  Visit the site for a full description of each award and the nomination form. 

To be honest, this isn’t scientific and the number of combinations is too much for me to figure out real character traits, so just have fun.

If any of your answers were:

A.  submit a nomination for the PHIL NOTARIANNI DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

B.  submit a nomination for the BESSIE JONES VOLUNTEER AWARD

C.  submit a nomination for the AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

D.  submit a nomination for the PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

E.  submit a nomination for the RISING PROFESSIONAL AWARD

If your answers were all over the place, then you should submit multiple nominations.

Remember to submit your nominations by August 15, 2015.

Paul Stavast is Director of BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures, teaches courses in Museum Practices at BYU and currently serves on the Utah Museums Association Board.

By: Paul Stavast

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend the American Alliance of Museums annual conference in Atlanta, GA.  Staff from hundreds of museums across the US and a few international museums attended.  Presenters provided perspectives and case studies from large institutions to small museums.  The breadth of projects presented at AAM has always intrigued me. 

As I sat there listening, I reflected on the work happening inUtah’s museums.  We are doing great things right here.  Whether the work is done by a single volunteer or a public figure, by a small team or an entire museum, devoted people are the heart of everything we do in museums.  Our colleagues throughout Utah use their commitment, creativity, and intelligence to overcome challenges, strengthen their communities, and make Utah museums better.  These are the attributes we desire to celebrate through UMA’s annual awards. 

Please, take a few minutes to nominate those colleagues who inspire you, who lift you, and who through their influence make Utah a better place for everyone. 

Nominations for UMA awards will be accepted from May 1st to July 15th.

The nomination form, a complete description of each award, and award criteria can be found on our awards webpage .  As a brief reminder UMA’s awards are:

BESSIE JONES VOLUNTEER AWARD

This award is given to a volunteer or volunteers who have actively supported the mission or program of a UMA Member Museum.

PHIL NOTARIANNI DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

This award is given to an individual who has shown exceptional dedication, provided lengthy service, or an intense and tangible commitment to Utah's museum community.

PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

This award is given to an individual who has served or is serving in a governmental capacity that in the scope of their duties has rendered vital assistance or support to Utah's museum community.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

This award is given to an individual, team, or organization that has shown superior achievement in any aspect of the museum field during the previous 18 months within Utah's museum community.

RISING PROFESSIONAL AWARD

This award is given to rising, current museum professionals (students or museum employees) whose work to date demonstrates a commitment to excellence in the field and their commitment to Utah's museum community.

Paul Stavast is Director of BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures, teaches courses in Museum Practices at BYU and currently serves on the Utah Museums Association Board.

Certificates Of Museum Practice:

S. Brent Farley, Orem Heritage Museum
Carol Adams, Orem Heritage Museum
Adrienne Day

More on the Certificate of Museum Practice

Awards

Public Service Award - Wendi Hassan

Wendi has been in the museum field for over 19 years. Wendi began her career at the Cache Valley Center for the Arts, where she wore many hats as the Executive Director, Marketing and Public Relations Director, Development Director, and Education & Outreach Director. From there she moved to the Alliance for the Varied Arts, where she served as the Executive Director. This was an arts organization and museum gallery space in Cache Valley where visual and performing arts were showcased. The organization merged with the Cache Valley Center for the Arts, shortly thereafter. Unfortunately the center closed a short time later. At that time Wendi joined the Utah Division of Arts and Museums as their Communications Specialist, the following year moved into the role of Community Development and Museums at the Utah Arts and Museums a role that she currently holds. Although Wendi has extensive experience in the arts, she is very supportive of all museums and goes above and beyond to provide much needed support, technical assistance and networking opportunities for museum professionals. You will see Wendi out and about in the museum community, she has coordinated the Utah Arts Day at the Legislature, Utah Museum Day at the Legislature, and is an active participant in the Western Arts and Utah Museum Association Conferences. Wendi is friendly, outgoing and easy to work with - on behalf of Discovery Gateway - the Children's Museum of Utah, we proudly nominate Wendi Hassan for the Public Services Award.

Bessie Jones Volunteer Award - Anne Gardner

Anne Gardner moved from northern California to Cedar City, Utah in 1983 and became involved with the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery at Southern Utah University. In 1988, Gardner became inextricably involved with the Friends of the Braithwaite Gallery serving on its board and as chair, on and off for the last 10 years. Under Anne's leadership, in 1992, the Friends launched their annual Art Auction which celebrated it's 21st anniversary in 2013. The first year, the auction offered 14 pieces of art by local artists and celebrated net revenue of $4,100. Last February the event's net revenue exceeded $25,000. Over the 21 years of the event nearly $300,000 have been raised by Anne's work with area artists who donate their artwork for the good of the Gallery. With the auction proceeds each year, the Friends of the Gallery sponsor a fall show which has included such exhibits as "Francisco de Goya: Los Caprichos", "Frederic Remington Makes Tracks", "Winslow Homer in America" and with record attendance "In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits." With each fall exhibition, the Friends fund interactive educational programming for Iron County's K-12 students. Nearly 5,000 young people are served each year through these efforts.
As if leading the Friends group wasn't enough, Anne is a relentless supporter of the planned Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) to be built on the campus of Southern Utah University. Actually, she had much to do with the inception of the Museum as in 2007 she let newly arrived SUU President Michael T. Benson know that what the campus and community truly needed was an art museum. Anne was the first to make a significant gift to the project and the museum will break ground in March of 2014.
It is with great gratitude for her 30 years of commitment and generosity to the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery -- soon to be the Southern Utah Museum of Art -- that I nominate Anne Garner for the Bessie Jones Volunteer Award.