Contests & Awards
Silver pieces made by Marty Hart at the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts, Image Credit: Marty Hart
(See more about this image below)
AFMS and Regional Competitions and Awards Promoting Excellence
The American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) offers numerous programs in collaboration with local regions to recognize excellence achieved by member clubs and individuals. Submissions are judged within the local region against a set of national standards and awarded numerical scores. The three highest scoring Regional entries are then forwarded to national competition to again be judged against the standards, with the top scoring submissions awarded national recognition. All member clubs are encouraged to participate in the awards programs.
(See below for more information. Click the links below for forms, guidelines, and results).
This special recognition is awarded by the Past Presidents/Advisory Council of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies for many years of outstanding service to the national organization. The Immediate Past President chairs the Council and presents the award at the banquet associated with the annual meeting.
Participating clubs compile a notebook highlighting the accomplishments of the clubs and its’ individual members. The notebook covers one calendar year of club events and is submitted after the first of the new year, to the Merit Award Chair for judging. Deadlines are determined regionally, prior to the national deadline.
Clubs can earn recognition for their printed materials such as newsletters, pamphlets and booklets. Additional categories recognize individual authors and artists. Deadlines for the Bulletin Editors Awards Competition (BEAC) are established regionally each year, before the national deadline. Bulletins are judged based on club size and editor experience level. Articles are judged by type of content and age of author. All judging is done based on standard criteria.
Members of registered clubs may enter displays at any club show offering AFMS competitive exhibits. Competitive cases are judged against national standards and may earn ribbons and plaques for excellence. Entrants are encouraged to consult “Uniform Rules” for the section that applies to their display. Winners at the local level are encouraged to attend the national convention and enter their case in the national level competition. There are also categories for junior members who are eligible for the Lillian Turner Award when the National Convention is held in the Midwest region.
The AFMS has a special website just for kids! Click HERE for the AFMS Junior website to learn about current contests as well as other fun and educations\al things for juniors!
Original multimedia educational and enrichment presentations developed by an individual or small group can be submitted to the regional Program Competition Chair for judging. Prior to the actual submission, the Chairperson will work with the presenter to refine their program and help them earn the best possible score. Regional winning programs are forwarded for national competition. Programs that earn high scores nationally are reproduced and distributed to the film libraries of all regional federations.
This unique program relies on local clubs to determine the criteria for recognition. Clubs may choose to honor a member or couple for their contribution to the organization or the hobby. The club writes up a summary of the honoree’s accomplishments and submits their information to the regional Rockhound of the Year chair. This information will be printed in the regional and AFMS Newsletters. The club will receive a name badge to present to the individual, recognizing their honor.
Club maintained websites may enter the regional and national Website Competition. Sites are judged using a score sheet that is posted on the AFMS website. Winners are awarded certificates at the regional level and plaques at the national level.
ALL CURRENT ENTRY FORMS AND RULES ARE POSTED
ON THE AFMS WEBSITE
(Click the links above)
About the image on this page
Silver Jewelry
Some silver pieces made in a class at a federation workshop. The pendant on the left is "silver wear" made of of some silverware, a fork, to make interlocking hearts. These were made in a class during federation week at the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia.
Image Credit: Marty Hart