Annual End of Year Celebration

AUTHORITY:

This Code is established under the authority of Article XV of the Bylaws of the Associated Students, California State University, Northridge, Inc.

PURPOSE:

The Purpose of this code shall be to outline the policies and procedures governing the Associated Students (AS) Annual End of the Year Celebration. The purpose of this event is to celebrate the collective achievements of the Associated Students, CSU Northridge over the course of the past year, and to recognize academic and service excellence amongst the staff and student employees/leaders of the AS.

DATE OF EFFECTIVENESS:

This code shall be effective when approved by a majority vote of the AS Senate.

AMENDMENTS:

This code may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the total voting membership of the AS Senate.

COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITY:

It is the responsibility of the Committee to plan, execute and evaluate the Annual End of the Year Celebration. Additionally, it is the role of the committee to develop, execute and evaluate the awards process for each year’s event.

COMMITTEE:

The Annual End of the Year Celebration will be planned by two separate committees:

1. PROGRAM GROUP

The Annual End of the Year Celebration Program group will consist of the following members:

• The AS Executive Director, who will serve as Chair of the Committee.
• The AS Vice President (student)
• The AS Chief of Staff (staff)
• AS Productions Coordinator (staff)
• One AS Producer (student)
• The AS Marketing Manager (staff}
• One additional student employee/leader appointed by the AS President
• One additional staff/student employee appointed by the Executive Director

The purpose of the Program group is to plan, produce and evaluate the annual event each year, including but not limited to: room reservations, theme and décor; meal selection, invitations and award nominations process, purchase of awards and all expenses related to the yearly event (including budgeting for purchase of awards.

PROGRAM GROUP RESPONSIBILITIES

In addition to the budget, the Program group shall be responsible for but not limited to the following duties:

1. Reserve a space for each year’s event in September of each year, and sending out a “Save the Date” to VIP guests in November each year (including the University President, all Vice Presidents, All Deans, Senate advisors and AS Staff/student leaders)
2. Arrange all logistics for the event including invitations, payments, development of the program, food, presentations and presenters, any keynote speakers or videos, games, giveaways, decorations, and volunteer help.
3. Providing a passing of the gavel from one AS President to the next, and speeches by the outgoing and incoming AS Presidents and Vice Presidents.
4. Holding a formal Tradition of the Rose ceremony at the close of the event.
5. Contacting the Alumni Association with regard to membership and cost for new WRF
6. Lifetime membership recipients.

MEETINGS

The Program group should meet once a month during the summer and fall semester, and bi-weekly beginning with the start of the spring semester.

LOGISTICS

• The event will be held during the month of May each year.
• There will be no charge for AS staff, student employees, VIP university guests and student leadership to attend. The committee may set fees for guests and non-AS attendees commensurate with the cost of the meal being served. The Program group should develop a list of VIP guests and make sure that they are notified that their meal is being provided by AS – they will not be charged. The Program group should make a decision about how many guests, if any, the outgoing and incoming AS President/Vice President may bring to each event, and what the cost may be.
• No matter what other elements the event may include, it will always include:

1. A keynote or farewell speech by the AS President
2. A passing of the gavel from the current AS President to the incoming AS President
3. A brief speech from the incoming AS President
4. A tradition of the rose ceremony at the Matador Statue (or a virtual ceremony in case the event must be held virtually)

BUDGET

• The Program group is responsible for developing a working budget for each year’s event based on the money allocated for the current fiscal year.
• The Program group will keep track of all expenses related to each year’s event, and submit a final report to the Productions Coordinator by the end of June each year to aid in the annual budget request for the next year. The budget will include all costs related to the banquet including awards, decorations, room and equipment rental costs, printing, decorations, and awards/gifts.
• The budget for the AS End of the Year Celebration will be submitted by AS Productions as part of their annual budget request.
• Funding for awards will be part of the annual budget allocation for the Annual End of the Year Celebration.

2. AWARDS GROUP

The Annual End of the Year Celebration Awards Group will consist of the following members:

• The AS President
• The AS Executive Director
• The Chair of Personnel
• HR Manager
• The AS Government Secretary (non-voting) who will take minutes of the meetings, order and receive the awards through the Student Leadership suite, and keep a historical record of the award winners from year to year, as well as update any perpetual plaques.

AWARDS

The awards/recognitions given out at the event will include the following:

• Staff member of the Year: Awarded to any full-time member of the AS staff for their contributions to AS over the past year.
• Student Employee of the Year: Awarded to any student member of the AS staff for their contributions to AS over the past year.
• The Hermie Award: See Hermie document for qualifications.

Hermione “Hermie” Wambold was a former AS Government Secretary who passed away due to illness in 1988. This award was created to honor her legacy of service to the students in AS. It is important that the award is given in the same spirit. The document establishing the award lists the following as criteria for giving the award:

i. “Hermie was an outstanding individual, always ready to help the corporation as well as individual students and staff. She was a sounding board for new ideas, an organizer who always seemed to remember all those details that students seemed to forget, the personal psychologist for anyone with a problem and a second mother to us all. She was willing to do whatever was necessary to ensure that A.S. would run smoothly. She was a warm individual who never lacked a kind word; especially at times we needed it most. Yet she was honest; you always knew where she stood. In brief, she was the heart that made A.S. work so well. It is in this spirit that the recipient of a “Hermie” should be chosen.”

Nominees must have given at least two years of service to the Associated Students. All senate members (including the President and Vice President), Chairs, student employees and staff members are eligible. No more than one award may be given out each year.

• The David H. Crandall Spirit of the Matador Award: Presented to a student, staff member or student leader in AS, this award is given to recognize outstanding spirit and enthusiasm for being part of Associated Students, Inc., CSU Northridge, and being a Matador. The award includes a pair of tickets to any one event at the Soraya during the regular season (no special events). The recipient may choose their event and date.

• The award shall be given to any member of the Associated Students, CSUN faculty, staff, or administration.
• Nominees shall represent the five outstanding traits of the Matador; these traits are:

• Courage
• Grace
• Ability
• Strength
• Creativity

• Nominees shall always represent the spirit of the Matador and show pride of being part of the CSUN community.
• There may be only one award recipient each year.

• The William R. Foster Honorary Lifetime Membership Award.

Any student or staff employee of the Associated Students, and any student volunteer with the Associated Students may make nominations for the William R. Foster Honorary Lifetime Membership Award.

Nominations will be submitted according to the guidelines presented by the Awards Committee.

All student nominees for the award must have minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 undergraduate or 3.0 graduate in order to be eligible to receive the award.

All student nominees shall be members of the graduating class of the year in which the award is given. Students who graduate at the end of the previous fall semester will be eligible for the award that spring.

All student and staff members must have been employed/involved with Associated Students at CSU Northridge for a minimum of two years prior to receiving the award.

Awards may be given in the following categories:

a. Undergraduate/graduate student award – no more than six (6) awards may be presented in any year.

b. Outstanding Faculty, Staff, and Administration Special Award – no more than two (2) may be presented in any one year.

Recipients of the WRF Honorary Lifetime Membership Award will receive:

* Permanent membership in the CSUN Alumni Association

* Lifetime student-rate privileges to Intercollegiate athletics, AS activities, services and programs (with the exception of the AS Children’s Center services/programs)

• Incoming AS President: The incoming AS President will be given a gavel and sounding block engraved with the academic year of their presidency.
• Staff Service Awards: These are given to recognize AS staff at 5 year increments of service with one red rose for each year they have served. (i.e. 5 years = 5 roses)
• Academic Achievement Recognition: given to all students (including staff) who have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 undergraduate or 3.5 graduate (as of the beginning of the spring semester) will be recognized for their academic achievement.
• Graduation Medallions: Students and staff who are graduating

REGULATION:

Both the Planning and the Awards Committees shall, in the execution of their responsibilities, uphold the policies of:

• The United States Constitution
• The State of California
• California State University, Northridge, and
• Associated Students

PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY:

The parliamentary authority for the End of the Year Celebration Committee shall be the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

ENABLING CLAUSE:

This Code shall supersede all previous codes on the AS Awards Banquet. It will also serve to supersede any language in the Hermie document, the Code on the William R. Foster Honorary Lifetime Membership Award or the Code on the David H. Crandall Spirit of the Matador Award which outlines a selection committee, or members of that selection committee. The criteria for each award remains unchanged.