Governor’s Community Achievement Awards
Judging Tip Sheet

Application instructions indicate that the questions listed in the application should be answered as
part of the executive summary but responses are not limited to the questions listed. The questions
are included on the score sheet, and applications are provided at each table.

While statistics are valuable, the numbers should not be the sole decision making issue. Some
programs have been in existence a number of years and are experiencing decreases in litter. Some
programs are new and may have a small number of volunteers that collect a large amount of litter.
Judges should consider the overall application in regard to organization, community involvement and
statistics.

Some questions refer to what the “program” has done while others refer to what the "community" has
done. In Litter Prevention and Cleanup, one question asks "your program conducts…” while the
next question asks “your community’s … campaign.” Please review closely, to see if the question is
referring to the community group that is submitting the application or community efforts performed by
numerous groups and/or government entities.

Applicants may give valid reasons why some questions have not been answered, and judge must
determine what is a "good" answer. For example, “No Adopt-a-Highway miles are available to adopt
in our community, but we send a thank you card to current Adopt-a-Highway groups in the area.”

The Summation Question should be judged on its merit to the overall program. No separate
supplemental materials were required but applicants requesting direction were advised that the
project/program should be referred to in the supplemental materials.

Judges should consider the overall program. Judges should look at how each program is organized
and supported and consider the overall accomplishments.

Writing styles may vary from bullet points to complex sentence structure but content and ability to
answer the questions should be the primary consideration. If the style makes the application difficult
to read, the judge should specify this concern in the written comments section.

Judge may wish to briefly review all applications and separate into possible winners, possible award
of excellence, and/or other categories.

A score of 90 or above is important to communities seeking the Award of Excellence or Sustained
Excellence. Winners of the 2006 -2008 awards are not eligible to win and have been marked with a
blue dot to reflect that they are competing for Award of Excellence and/or Sustained Excellence.

Judges should consult among the panel to determine the judging panels ranking of the applications.

We request that judges provide written statements for improvement, i.e. why points were deducted
or how to improve the application for next year. Written comments may be added after the group
has determined the order of the applications.

Award Committee Chair and staff will review the judge’s scores and make final rule deductions (if
applicable). Award Committee Chair will be responsible for announcing the winners. The final
winners will be announced by March 27th. Please do not contact anyone about scores or
results.
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Governor’s Community Achievement Awards
Judging Tip Sheet
Common abbreviations

AAH – Adopt-a-Highway

C/B Ratio – Cost-Benefit Ratio

COG – Council of Governments maybe NCTCOG, H-GAC, Ark-Tex

DMWT or DMwT – Don’t Mess with Texas

GAC - Great American Cleanup

GCAA – Governor’s Community Achievement Award

GLO – General Land Office

KAB - may be Keep America Beautiful but may be affiliate with name that starts with “A”

KTB – may be Keep Texas Beautiful but may be affiliate with name that starts with “T”

L&R or LR – Lake and River

LI – Litter Index

PLT – Project Learning Tree

Pre-cert – Keep America Beautiful pre-certified affiliate i.e. initial steps started for certification

STT – Stop Trashing Texas

TCEQ – Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

TFS – Texas Forest Service

TO or T-O - Trash-off

TRD - Texas Recycles Day.

TxDOT – Texas Department of Transportation

WIP - Waste in Place

YSA/YSD – Youth Service of America or Youth Service Day
If something is not clear, the judge should ask the Award Committee Chair or staff for
clarification.
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