The award will be determined in the following way: Those in the Leather/fetish communities cannot vote toward any recipient. The award will be voted on by a panel of six (6) members in good standing from the above communities across the country who will recommend the nominees to each other by feedback, observation and suggestion by each other or those within those communities to the panel. The founder will NOT be a part of the panel. IN CASES OF A TIE, the founder will cast the deciding vote based on substantiated service to the community. The founder will NOT take ANY part in the process or vote for ANY nominee nor have any part in the selection process. IF SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED IN WRITING by a panel member, he can be a consultant of the guidelines on how the award is chosen in pertaining to a nominee, but the panel always makes the final determination. The suggestions/applications must be in the hands of the panel members NO LATER than 11:59:59PM EASTERN TIME, on May 30th of each year. The Panel will make their formal announcement of the chosen recipients at or about noon on the 21st of June each year. Panel members will contact the recipients and it does not matter which panel member does this. Someone from the panel will THEN inform the Founder who will then give out the cash awards and prizes.
A cash award of five hundred dollars ($500.00) each for Male/Female award and one thousand dollars ($1000.00) for the Lifetime Achievement award each year will be given. In addition, a certificate, T shirt, and pin will also be given. Recipients of the award will submit a SHORT bio of ONE paragraph and photo of themselves to be uploaded to the website for permanent installation. Nothing other than the bio and photo is expected of the recipients. NO NOMINEE is given any preferential consideration based on age, gender, race, religion; nor will any special consideration be given to any individual holding a title, past or present. recipients are SOLELY chosen based on long standing community service. Monies for Cash awards, pins, T shirts come DIRECTLY from the founders personal accounts so there are no fundraisers, producers, or events.
If the panel determines they cannot select a recipient for the award, then that year the award will be VACANT, for either the male/female/lifetime award.
Panel members CANNOT nominate themselves or each other and the founder is NEVER eligible for this award. After the THIRD calendar year on the panel, the panel members will vote on those who will succeed them to the panel. Criteria for that process will be discussed amongst the present panel members and the founder to be added on here at a later date. Panel members may resign their position at any time in an emergency, i.e. illness, family, OR at their choosing at any time between July 1st to January 1 so that it does not interfere with the selection process. If a panel member cannot perform his/her duties and must resign, the remaining 5 will continue to function and also vote in a 6th member. The Founder will NOT get to vote but will be consulted. The initial panel will be chosen by the Founder but afterwards the panel will decide on who will succeed them when their 3 year term has expired. NO panel member OR representative will have ANY dealings with finances or monies for ANY reason regarding the Award. ALL award checks will be written out and mailed to recipients by the Founder until such time that the founder delegates IN WRITING to the panel who would perform this duty should the founder be unable to perform such duty. Award monies are NOT raised. They are given out of the Founders personal accounts to those who the panel decides have earned the award.
Recipients of the yearly award are to be chosen using ONLY the following criteria: Those who perform good works and community service over a 5 year, CONSECUTIVE period of time. For the Lifetime Award, a consecutive period of TEN (10) years at the very least, preferable longer. Title holders title year can count as part of the required time. Community service does not include representing a specific title and thus traveling around or photo ops. Community service means any humanitarian service to the leather/fetish communities OR to the human community in general. It is not limited to the leather/fetish communities. It can be any humanitarian service from being a paramedic, to breast cancer awareness, HIV prevention, the poor, reducing violence/stigma against transgender people, or any number of ANY work or service for the betterment of humanity.
The six member panel will choose one male one female for the yearly Leathertarian Award and one male OR female for the Leathertarian Lifetime Achievement Award. IF the panel decides that these guidelines need amendments they can be added. If the panel decides that "other" awards should be added BASED ON THE ABOVE CRITERIA for categories other than what is listed here, a discussion and decision process will take place.