2013 Quest for Excellence Awards
Michigan Museums Association is proud to announce the 2013 Quest for Excellence Awards.
Our state’s museums are full of dedicated and talented people who work hard to deliver
accurate and engaging visitor experiences and they deserve to be acknowledged! This year, we
are including are bringing back an older category "Best New Publication" and also adding a peer
voted award "Most Thought Provoking Session” (to be voted on at the Conference).
This Year's Categories
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Peninsulas Prize
Unsung Hero
Best New Experience
Best New Publication (two categories)
*new* Most Thought Provoking Session at the Annual Conference! (to be voted on at
the Conference)
Winners will be acknowledged during our annual conference, held this year on Thursday,
October 10th in Bay City. The 2013 Quest for Excellence Awards have been generously
sponsored by Henry Matthews and Timothy Chester.
Award Descriptions
Peninsulas Prize
This prize honors long and distinguished service by an individual to a single institution.
Nominate that person who has devoted his or her life to your institution and whose dedication
should be acknowledged. Please include the following details:
• How many years this person has worked at your institution.
• Relate his or her unique contributions to the museum.
• Share a story that supports that this person as extraordinarily dedicated to your
museum.
Unsung Hero
We all know these colleagues. They have jobs behind the scenes that are un-glamorous but
essential to the museum’s operations. Please include the following details:
• Nominee’s years of service.
• Person’s unique talents and contributions.
• Share a story that tell us how crucial this person is.
Best New Experience
MMA works hard to share tools that help our state’s museums to develop visitor-focused
experiences that inspire “aha!” moments. This category includes exhibitions, activities or
special events. Please include the following details:
• What were the goals and objectives? How did you make sure you fulfilled these?
• Challenges and triumphs relating to the experience or its development.
• What was the goal for your visitors to enjoy and learn from this exhibit?
• Please include visitor feedback in the "Additional Notes/Comments" section for this
category.
Best New Publication
Show us your creativity! Each year our museums and organizations create pamphlets,
brochures, catalogues, books and other media to publicize our experiences, tell us which ones
you are most proud of! There will be two awards for this category - one for museums with an
operating budget of over $500,000 and one for under $500,000.
• What were the goals and objectives? What was this publication for?
• Was the media used successful to your experience?
● Why should this person/institution be nominated?
• What was the goal for your visitors to enjoy and learn from this exhibit?
• Please also send a copy of the media for us to see - this can be emailed as a pdf or
mailed as a hard copy.
The Rules
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You can submit more than one nomination from your institution, but only one for each
category.
All nominees and/or their institution must be either members of MMA.
Awards will be presented on Thursday, October 10th during our Annual Conference in
Bay City.
Winners will be contacted ahead of time to ensure they will be present for the award
ceremony.
Submissions MUST be received by September 6, 2013. You will receive confirmation of
your submission.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact Beth Bahls @ 734.647.0527 or
ebahls@umich.edu
2013 MMA Quest for Excellence Award Nomination Form
Your Contact Information
Name _____________________________________________________________
Affiliation __________________________________________________________
Email_____________________________________________________________
Phone_____________________________________________________________
Nominee Contact Information
Name _____________________________________________________________
Institution__________________________________________________________
Mailing Address______________________________________________________
Nominee Email ______________________________________________________
Nominee Phone _____________________________________________________________________
Award
□ Peninsulas Prize
□ Unsung Hero
□ Best New Experience:________________________________________________
□ Best New Publication (budget over $500,000): ________________________________
□ Best New Publication (budget under $500,000): _______________________________
Why should this person/institution be nominated? (please add an extra sheet if needed)
Additional Notes/Comments:
Mail nomination form to:
Michigan Museums Association
PO Box 5246
Cheboygan, MI 49721
Nominations may also be submitted online at Michiganmuseums.org.