Emerging Leader Award

Purpose:

To identify and honor one physical therapist or physical therapist assistant “emerging leader” from each APTA chapter or section, who has demonstrated extraordinary service early in his or her physical therapy career. The individual should have made exceptional overall accomplishments and contributions to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the CVP Academy, and the physical therapy profession to advance APTA’s vision

Eligibility:

  1. The nominee must be a current member of APTA for at least 5 years and no more than 10 years from formal graduation.
  2. The nominee must be a member in good standing of the Academy of Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Physical Therapy at the time of the nomination.

Criteria for Selection

  • One “emerging leader” from each chapter and section will be recognized annually, provided the component has submitted a nomination using the procedures outlined below. The nomination should include a description of the outcome of the contributions and how the contributions align with the CVP Academy or APTA goals, objectives, and vision. 
  • The following information must be provided in the submission letter:
  1. A description of the nominee’s contributions.
  2. Examples of demonstrated service to the APTA, CVP Academy, or physical therapy profession.
  3. Explanation of the potential for future contributions to APTA, CVP Academy, or physical therapy profession
  4. Examples of how the nominee has advanced activities for the CVP Academy 
  • The nomination letter should not exceed 3 pages in length single spaced.
  • A curriculum vitae/resume should be submitted along with the nomination letter.

Procedure for Nomination:

  • The nomination letter must be submitted to the Chair of the Nominating Committee no later than October 15th. 
  • The Nominating Committee will collect and review all nominations submitted by the deadline. During their review, the Nominating Committee will:
    • verify that all nominations are complete
    • verify that nominees are members in good standing with APTA and the Academy
    • rank the nominees according to the number of criteria categories for which information has been provided 
  • Review of the nominations will take no longer than 4 weeks from the deadline. Upon completion of the initial review, the Nominating Committee Chair will forward the nominations and the results of the review to the Academy Officers for final review and award determination. 
  • The award will be determined based upon the substance of the contributions made, not simply the number of activities listed. 

Procedure for Notification of Award by Academy

  • The award winner will be notified by the Academy President no later than one month prior to the Combined Sections Meeting at which the award will be presented.
  • Award recipients receive a plaque acknowledging their contributions. The plaque will be presented at the Academy’s Annual Membership Meeting at CSM if the recipient is in attendance. If the recipient is unavailable to attend CSM, then the plaque will be mailed to him/her following the meeting. An announcement celebrating their award also will be placed in various Academy media.

Procedure for Recognition by APTA

  • The Academy president is responsible for submitting the name of the winner and supporting information to APTA’s Component Services Department by May 15th.
  • APTA’s Component Services Department will notify those selected as emerging leaders in July. Recognized individuals will receive a congratulatory letter from APTA’s President and a certificate of recognition.
  • Emerging leaders will be recognized in the September issue of PT Magazine as part of a short overall descriptive article about the Emerging Leader Award that will include the name, affiliation, city, state and nominating component of each emerging leader selected.