THE DR. JAMESANNA KIRVEN OUTSTANDING COUNSELOR AWARD

This award is presented to an individual in recognition of his/her contributions in one or more areas of professional counseling. The award was renamed in 2005 to the 'Dr. Jamesanna Kirven Outstanding Counseling Award,' in honor of Dr. Jamesanna Kirven, the first Certified Counselor in Texas. Throughout her life, Dr. Kriven was involved in some form of educational activity. One of her greatest accomplishments was bringing the Principles and Theory of Guidance to Texas. Dr. Kirven worked as a Counselor, Supervisor of Secondary Area Counselors, and Supervision Director of Trainees for License in the Division of Mental Health. She also served as a Senator for TCA and was a charter member of seven TCA Divisions. The criteria for the award is as follows:

• The individual must be a TCA member for at least one full year preceding the nomination.


• The person must be a member of TCA, a local Chapter and a Division.



• A resume may be submitted along with examples of professional achievement and personal dedication.

An individual TCA member, a Chapter or Division may submit a nomination for the TCA Outstanding Counselor Award.

THE MOLLY GEROLD HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD

This award is presented to an individual in recognition of his/her contributions in one or more areas of human rights. The award is named in memory of Molly Gerold, a counselor for the Northeast Independent School District in San Antonio. Molly was an innovator and was the district's counselor for the gifted and talented program. She was a creative, energetic woman who served as the Elementary Vice-President for the Texas School Counselor Association, contributed her poetry to the TCA Journal, and co-authored several articles. The criteria for the award is as follows:

• The individual must be a TCA member for at least one full year preceding the nomination.


• Entries should contain evidence of activities that focus on the nominee's contributions to human rights.


• Entries should contain documentation of or implications for change relative to an area of human rights.


• Entries should demonstrate that the individual has exhibited a pattern of continued activity in the area of human rights.


• Individual TCA members, Chapters or Divisions may submit nominations for this award.

An individual, TCA Chapter or Division may submit a nomination for this award.

OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD

This award is presented to a graduate student in counselor education whose dedication and academic work demonstrate excellence in the theory and practice of some significant area of counseling and exhibits outstanding scholarship.

• The individual must be a TCA member for at least one full year preceding the nomination.


• The individual must be a student pursuing a graduate degree in counseling at any time during the year preceding the nomination.


• The individual must have compiled an outstanding academic record in his or her graduate studies, in some significant area of counseling.


• The individual must have demonstrated through independent work a commitment to issues of counseling (e.g. published or engaged in scholarly activities related to issues of counseling, developed innovative programs, demonstrated leadership in counseling at the local, state, regional, national, or international level, participated actively in community service and/or advocacy initiatives).

Students may submit nominations on their own behalf or have their work submitted by a colleague or professor.

RESEARCH AWARD

This award is presented to an individual (or individuals) whose in-depth, academic research and work demonstrate excellence in the theory and practice of a significant area of professional counseling. The criteria for this award is as follows:

• The individual must be a TCA member for at least one full year preceding the nomination.


• Research materials must be submitted with the resume as part of the documented evidence.


• The nomination will be judged on the basis of how the research was accomplished and the benefits to counseling.


• The Research Award cannot be given to an individual in the following areas:
  
  
  
  • Doctoral dissertations
  
  
  • Masters papers
  
  
  
  

An individual, TCA Chapter or Division may submit a nomination for the Research Award.

PROFESSIONAL WRITING AWARD

This award is presented to an individual (or individuals) whose writing demonstrates excellence in a significant area of the counseling profession. The criteria for this award is as follows:

• The individual must be a TCA member for at least one full year preceding the nomination.


• The written document must be submitted with the resume as a part of the documented evidence. The document must pertain to counseling and guidance activities.


• The Professional Writing Award cannot be given to an individual in the following areas:
  
  
  
  • Doctoral dissertations.
  
  
  • Masters papers.
  
  
  
  

An individual TCA member, a Chapter or a Division may submit a nomination for the Professional Writing Award.

LAYPERSON EXEMPLARY SERVICE AWARD

This award is presented annually by the Texas Counseling Association to a layperson as recognition of his/her exemplary service in the support and promotion of guidance and counseling in the State of Texas. The criteria for this award is as follows:

• Nominees must not be in the profession of guidance and counseling.


• Provide documented evidence of the individual's support and promotion of counseling and guidance.


• Submitting a resume is suggested, but not required.

An individual TCA member, Chapter or Division may submit a nomination for this award.

OUTSTANDING TCA CHAPTER AWARD

This award is presented to a regional Chapter of the Texas Counseling Association in recognition of their exemplary service to their members, and in the support and promotion of professional counseling in the State of Texas. The criteria for this award is as follows:

• Documented evidence, no more than ten pages, such as communication, service to membership, research activities, promotional activities, and any other data that reflect the Chapter's accomplishment during the previous association year.


• Consideration will be given to Chapter newsletters based on originality and creativity, promotion of professional counseling and enhancement of Chapter activities. One copy of each issue of the newsletter should be submitted.


• Consideration will also be given to activities that focus attention on human rights issues, such as workshops, special projects, development of materials, or interactions with other groups or associations. Entries should contain documentation of or implications for change relative to an area of human rights. The entries should demonstrate that activities were an intentional act of the Chapter to address the topic of human rights.


• Consideration will be given to public relations products that positively promote the guidance and counseling profession to the public. The product can be, but is not limited to, the following: brochure, video tape, newspaper series, T-shirt, or billboard. The product must be a non-commercial item and must be sent to the committee. If it is impossible to send the product, an enlarged photograph will suffice. Entries should list specific markets/groups targeted by the public relations activity/product. Some public acknowledgment of the public relations effort should be included, such as letters from the community, newspaper articles, etc.


• In the area of membership, consideration will be given to the Chapter with the greatest annual percentage of growth in TCA membership during the fiscal year (July 1 - June 30). Creative and innovational promotional activities, projects, or strategies for encouraging membership in TCA and the Chapter will be taken into consideration as well as the Chapter's processes of recognizing new members and acknowledging current members sponsoring/promoting professional membership. Chapter strategies for inclusion of all kinds of counselors, for flexibility in accommodation for various meeting structures (e.g. time, date, location, needs assessments, survey results, etc.) and for communication in inviting and keeping TCA members should be listed. Upon receiving the award, the Chapter should be prepared to share information about their promotional projects and strategies. This information would be shared through Guidelines, information sent to Chapters by the Membership/Member Services Committee, and a display at the Membership/Members Services booth.

Individual Chapter members or groups of members may submit nominations.

OUTSTANDING TCA DIVISION AWARD

This award is presented to a practice-specific Division of the Texas Counseling Association in recognition of their exemplary service to their members, and in the support and promotion of professional counseling in the State of Texas. The criteria for this award is as follows:

• Documented evidence, no more than ten pages, such as communication, service to membership, research activities, promotional activities, and any other data that reflect the Division's accomplishment during the previous association year.


• Consideration will be given to Division newsletters based on originality and creativity, promotion of professional counseling and enhancement of Division activities. One copy of each issue of the newsletter should be submitted.


• Consideration will also be given to activities that focus attention on human rights issues, such as workshops, special projects, development of materials, or interactions with other groups or associations. Entries should contain documentation of or implications for change relative to an area of human rights. The entries should demonstrate that activities were an intentional act of the Division to address the topic of human rights.


• Consideration will be given to public relations products that positively promote the guidance and counseling profession to the public. The product can be, but is not limited to, the following: brochure, video tape, newspaper series, T-shirt or billboard. The product must be non-commercial item and must be sent to the committee. If it is impossible to send the product, an enlarged photograph will suffice. Entries should list specific markets/groups targeted by the public relations activity/product. Some public acknowledgment of the public relations effort should be included, such as letters from the community, newspaper articles, etc.
  


• In the area of membership, consideration will be given to the Division with the greatest annual percentage of growth in TCA membership during the fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) Creative and innovational promotional activities, projects, or strategies for encouraging membership in TCA and the Division will be taken into consideration as well as the Division's processes of recognizing new members and acknowledging current members sponsoring/promoting professional membership. Division strategies for inclusion of all kinds of counselors, for flexibility in accommodation for various meeting structures (e.g. time, date, location, needs assessments, survey results, etc.) And for communication in inviting and keeping TCA members should be listed. Upon receiving the award, the Division should be prepared to share information about their promotional projects and strategies. This information would be shared through Guidelines, information sent to Divisions by the Membership/Member Services Committee, and a display at the Membership/Member Services booth

Individual Division members or groups of members may submit nominations.

1. Describe the activity and how it matches one or more of the designated areas as state in the EEF purpose.
2. Describe how this activity will impact the counseling profession, the applicant’s professional growth, and/or the general public.
3. Describe how this funding will be specifically used. Include a timeline for initiating and completing the activity.
4. Describe how the results or information gained will be used and/or disseminated.
5. Submit documentation on the actual use of the award to the EEF Committee no later than twelve (12) months after the award is given.

Thank you for your work to ensure that your Chapter bylaws are current and in compliance with TCA. You are receiving this email to confirm that your submission has been successfully received for review. The TCA Bylaws Committee will begin your review with in the next 3 weeks and will contact your with any necessary updates. Please see reminders of the review process below.

It is IMPERATIVE that you follow these instructions to ensure your bylaws review request is properly processed:

Initial Submission:

• Use the chapter bylaws template to create your first draft (see link below). You MUST utilize the provided template to ensure your bylaws adhere to and cover all sections in the association’s bylaws.
• FY2025 Chapter Bylaws Template

Updates & Edits:

• All communications and updated documents will be maintained in this system.
• You will receive a notification from the system confirming that you successfully submitted your bylaws for review. Be sure to check your spam folder, as some firewalls may flag system generated emails. If you do not receive a confirmation email, then your submission was not received by the system. Please resubmit. 
• The committee will begin the review.
• You will receive communications indicating any necessary edits and your submission will be marked as “Editable.”
• The committee member assigned to your review will set up a sharable document that you will both will be able to make edits and comments to until a final version of your bylaws is ready to be uploaded into Submittables. For example the shareable file may be setup as a GoogleDoc to manage the interactive editing process.
• Once a final version of your bylaws is ready, you will receive a Submittables notification that your submission is “Open for Editing.”
• Open your original submission in the system, delete the old draft of your bylaws, and upload the approved version (see file naming below).
• At this point you can move forward with formalizing your bylaws and submitting the board/member approved version (see Formalizing Your Bylaws below).

Formalizing Your Bylaws & Submitting the Final File

• Depending on the specific requirements of your bylaws, you may need to hold a formal vote of your leadership or member body to accept the new bylaws.
• For those divisions and chapters that utilize TCA’s membership management system, TCA staff can assist you with sending out an eBlast to your member body if necessary. Visit https://form.jotform.com/211096606530147to submit your requests.
• Once your bylaws have been formalized, you will need to upload one final version with the confirmed approval date to your submission.
• Use the "Messaging" feature in your Submittables submission to notify the reviewer that the officiated file is available for upload.
• Your submission will be "Open for Editing" one final time. Upload the formalized version with the confirmed approval date and any necessary signatures. 
• The formalized file will be confirmed, your submission status will be updated to accepted, and your review will be complete.

Naming Your Files for Upload and File Format

Bylaws reviews can be lengthy and may require multiple iterations. To ensure that there is no confusion we ask that you use the following file naming format when uploading your files:

• Acronym_Year_Bylaws_Status

Examples:

o TxCSJ_2025_Bylaws_Draft1

o TMHCA_2025_Bylaws_Approved

o TPCA_2025_Bylaws_Formalized-Accepted

Thank you for your work to ensure that your Division bylaws are current and in compliance with TCA. You are receiving this email to confirm that your submission has been successfully received for review. The TCA Bylaws Committee will begin your review with in the next 3 weeks and will contact you with any necessary updates. Please see reminders of the review process below.

It is IMPERATIVE that you follow these instructions to ensure your bylaws review request is properly processed:

Initial Submission:

• Use the division bylaws template to create your first draft (see link below). You MUST utilize the provided template to ensure your bylaws adhere to and cover all sections in the association’s bylaws.
• FY2025 Division Bylaws Template

Updates & Edits:

• All communications and updated documents will be maintained in the Submittables system.
• You will receive a notification from the system confirming that you successfully submitted your bylaws for review. Be sure to check your spam folder as some firewalls may flag system generated emails. If you do not receive a confirmation email, then your submission was not received by the system. Please resubmit.
• The committee will begin the review.
• The committee member assigned to your review will set up a sharable document that you will both will be able to make edits and comments to until a final version of your bylaws is ready to be uploaded into Submittables. For example the shareable file may be setup as a GoogleDoc to manage the interactive editing process. 
• Once a final version of your bylaws is ready, you will receive a Submittables notification that your submission is “Open for Editing.”
• Open your original submission in the system, delete the old draft of your bylaws, and upload the approved version (see file naming below).
• At this point you can move forward with formalizing your bylaws and submitting the board/member approved version (see Formalizing Your Bylaws below).

Formalizing Your Bylaws & Submitting the Final File

• Depending on the specific requirements of your bylaws, you may need to hold a formal vote of your leadership or member body to accept the new bylaws.
• For those divisions and chapters that utilize TCA’s membership management system, TCA staff can assist you with sending out an eBlast to your member body if necessary. Visit https://form.jotform.com/211096606530147to submit your requests.
• Once your bylaws have been formalized, you will need to upload one final version with the confirmed approval date to your submission. 
• Use the "Messaging" feature in your Submittables submission to notify the reviewer that the officiated file is available for upload.
• Your submission will be "Open for Editing" one final time. Upload the formalized version with the confirmed approval date and any necessary signatures. 
• The formalized file will be confirmed,  your submission status will be updated to accepted, and your review will be complete.

Naming Your Files for Upload and File Format

Bylaws reviews can be lengthy and may require multiple iterations. To ensure that there is no confusion we ask that you use the following file naming format when uploading your files:

• Acronym_Year_Bylaws_Status

Examples:

o TxCSJ_2025_Bylaws_Draft1

o TMHCA_2025_Bylaws_Approved

o TPCA_2025_Bylaws_Formalized-Accepted