Planning and Executing an Awards Presentation Event
Always keep in mind that your awards presentation event is a reflection to your students,
guests and donors of your department and Ryerson University.
Planning – create checklists for every aspect of your event
 reception first, then awards (this is preferable if over the dinner hour)
 awards then reception (good if earlier in the day)
 receptions don’t have to be extravagant; determine what best suits your department’s
capabilities and budget
 it is never too early to choose a date and book a venue
 inform Convocation and Awards Office of your date as soon as it is decided, even if a room
has not been booked
 make an official room booking with the appropriate people (don’t assume a room will be
available)
 when booked check and reconfirm the booking as the day nears; recheck the day of
 make sure the room will be cleaned the night before and check again a couple of hours before
the beginning of the event in case last minute tidying is necessary
 Situation critical: your venue is not available at the very last minute; your guests, donors and
award winners are arriving; where can you go in a hurry? You must have a back up venue in
mind and phone numbers handy to hold the event in another space if necessary. THIS
HAPPENS!
 how will you contact all of your guests, donors, departmental participants and award
recipients if there is a change in venue or date
 also always have a backup plan for your master of ceremonies, refreshments, etc.
 In addition to booking a room, you should also consider booking an RU photographer (or
designate someone in your department), banners, food, podium, microphone, loud speakers
 in the room ensure there are chairs and tables to sit at; eat at; organize name tags on; organize
award envelopes and documents on
 what can you use as a podium; do you need a table to organize awards
 designate someone in your department to be the official host and master of ceremonies; who
will be at a table welcoming quests and checking off invitation lists, issuing name tags, etc.
 Speak with the photographer before the event to confirm the event location, to decide on an
area for picture taking, and what pictures you want taken (i.e. awards recipient, presenter and
donor; group photos as the end of the event, etc.
 Consider presenting Undergraduate and Graduate awards at the same ceremony
Reception
 book well in advance with Ryerson’s food services department
 be specific as to when and where you want the food served and whether you require wait
staff, etc.
 make someone responsible for ensuring that at all times throughout the food service there are
enough serving utensils, plates, glasses, napkins
 (more information under Planning and Logistics headings)
Invitations
 how will you be contacting all of your guests, donors and award recipients
 who will manage the master listing of who is and isn’t attending
 ensure the invitation gives specific time, date and room location, with a reference to
www.ryerson.ca/campusmaps
 say reception or meal to help guests plan their attendance
 coordinate with your University Advancement Director of Development your information
and efforts regarding invitations to your donors.
Guest Relations
 your invited guests and donors must know well in advance what you expect them to do,
especially if you want them to speak; how long are they to speak and about what
 do you expect the guest to speak to students and mingle
 let the guest know when during the program they will be presenting
 if a guest is only expected to congratulate a student then they must be made to feel that the
trip to be at the presentation was still worth their effort; every presentation must fell special
to all involved
 sent the guest a program as soon as it is ready
 put up directional signs so your guests can find the presentation regardless of the door they
enter
 is there someone to meet the invited guest and accompany them for the evening; this is
especially helpful when introductions need to be made, etc.
 designate a faculty or staff member or two to greet and spend some time with donors,
students, family members & friends
 mark name tags, i.e. award recipient, donor, faculty, staff, etc.
 award recipients could have a special ribbon attached to their name tag
 After the event, send guests a thank you note from the Chair/Director of the program for
attending; if they were unable to attend still acknowledge their donation for the year; be sure
to send them a program from the event
Program Books
 Consider putting in the program a brief one-liner on the award’s criteria in addition to the
recipient’s name
 Always list the recipient’s names; first name first, last name follows
 good to have all info in one brochure or sheet of paper (brochures/booklets with a fold are
created four pages at a time)
 consider including Dean’s List recipients in the presentations; they could be invited up as a
group; even if they are not invited to the ceremony it is nice to list them in the program and
send them a copy
 consider your order of program; i.e. first year to final year awards; entrance awards first; you
want to give some sense of order
 correct spelling of award names, recipient and donor names is crucial
 if you have pages to spare, put in interesting facts about your program or other award
recipients (i.e. NSERC)
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Planning and Executing an Awards Presentation Event
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Awards/Scholarships and other Announcements
 use the event to present other exciting news or announcements from the department
 consider using a presentation folder or an envelope if a certificate will be presented
 do the students receive any other “memento” of the evening besides the award?
Logistics
 get everyone to sit toward the front of the room
 put signs on chairs/tables that need to be reserved for guests, etc.
 if possible have donors/presenters sit near the presentation area so little time is lost while
people are making their way forward
 Speak with the photographer as soon as they arrive to reconfirm the area for picture taking
and what pictures you expect them to take
 have the photographer sit in front of the presentation area to be ready to take a picture
 if possible have another area set up away from the podium area for groups photos
 if you are in a large theatre and wanting to use a screen make sure the screen is in an area that
can be darkened without darkening the podium and the area where the award is being given
out
 the room must be properly lit
 do you need flowers, plants or possibly, Faculty/departmental banners or flags
(Ontario/Canadian/Ryerson) for decoration
 as student award recipients arrive mark off their names with a highlighter in one or two
programs; hand one copy to the master of ceremonies so they can adjust what they say and
another copy to the event organizer so they know to look for latecomers, etc
 also mark off presenters and donors as they arrive so welcoming remarks and new presenters
can be found if necessary
 if room is available consider displaying student’s award winning work, etc.
Scripts
 Write a script or an outline of the proceedings and include the speaking parts and actions
required, i.e. Dr Smith to introduce....and then hand the certificate to…
Speeches
 this is an event for the celebration of awards, student recipients and donors; do not have
speeches that are each no more than a minute or so long; also limit how many you have
 if you do have a guest speaker, ensure that they completely understand who the audience is,
that they are only to speak for a few moments
 if the President, Vice-President(s) or other university Executive members are attending your
event, you must let them know well in advance if you expect them to speak
 refer to www.ryerson.ca/convocationandawards for a template of information you should
provide their office so they can prepare for your event
 determine in advance if your guests will be staying for the whole event or just dropping by so
you can plan the timing of remarks accordingly (i.e. the master of ceremonies must be aware
that the President will be arriving mid-program and will be only dropping by, so a welcome
is inserted into their remarks as soon as the President arrives)
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Planning and Executing an Awards Presentation Event
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Acknowledgements
 acknowledgements: program department administrative and teaching staff; University
Advancement Directors of Development, etc
 donors
 recipients family and friends
 acknowledge the President, VP, etc., in attendance even if they are aren’t speaking or have
arrived late
Award Presentation Protocol
 have a quick briefing with each award recipient to let them know about the flow of the event
(can do this when they RSVP)
 if you already know a student will not be present at the event inform the donor in advance of
the event (if applicable) so they can choose to attend or not
 co-ordinate if the one speaker/presenter is introducing the next speaker/presenter
 each speaker/presenter should be up at the front of the room just prior to coming to the
podium so there is a quick transition from one speaker/presenter to the next
 announce what the award is for- i.e. the criteria
 mention other prestigious awards the student may have received but were
presented/announced elsewhere (i.e. Brian Segal Award, President’s National Scholarship,
etc.)
 have an master of ceremonies who speaks well, with ease, and with humour
 if possible keep the same master of ceremonies throughout the presentation
 make sure presenters have received the recipient’s names in advance so they can practice
pronunciations
 if a donor asks to give an award in a certain way, honour their wishes where practical
 make sure that a donor knows that there is no cheque presentation – just a piece of paper and
congratulations (funds have been automatically transferred to the student’s account)
Speaking Roles
(information under Speeches and Award Presentation Protocol)
If you have any questions or comments, contact:
Lise Payne
Events Coordinator, Convocation and Awards Office
ext. 7857
l2payne@ryerson.ca
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Planning and Executing an Awards Presentation Event
Prepared by the Convocation and Awards Office; revised July 2011