Migel Medal Nominee Selection and Guidelines

Established in 1937 by the late M.C. Migel, AFB's first board chairman, Migel Awards honor professionals and volunteers whose dedication and achievements have significantly improved the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired.

The 2006 Migel Medals will be presented on March 4, 2006 in Atlanta, GA during the 2006 Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute.

Nominees for the Migel Professional Award should be those whose professional work directly or indirectly benefits blind people. Potential nominees include, but are not limited to: professionals working in organizations or public institutions serving blind people; professors teaching in personnel preparation programs; and related professionals such as heads of regional libraries for blind people, or optometrists and ophthalmologists specializing in low vision patients.

Nominees for the Migel Lay Volunteer Award should be volunteers within the blindness and visual impairment field or professionals who are employed in other areas, such as university professors who develop adaptive technology.

Migel Medal Award nominations in both the professional and lay volunteer categories must be received no later than September 30, 2005 and should include a summary and specific examples that explain how nominees meet the selection guidelines. In addition, nominators who have submitted names in previous years are welcome to resubmit the nominations using the guidelines.

All nominations should be sent via e-mail to Gil Johnson at gil@afb.net.

Migel Awards Nomination and Selection Guidelines

Professional Category

The individual nominated should meet most of the following guidelines.

The individual has:

• made contributions that have had a direct or indirect impact on the blindness field and/or on people who are blind or visually impaired
• made constributions with national implications
• improved advocacy efforts
• made innovative or replicated contributions
• had a positive effect on professions serving people who are blind or visually impaired
• influenced the blindness system
• provided lasting leadership
• disseminated work through publications, presentations, committee memberships, active professional affiliations, etc.
• been recognized by peers for contributions

Lay Volunteer Category

The individual nominated should meet most of the following guidelines.

The individual has:

• made contributions that have had a direct or indirect impact on blindness field and/or on people who are blind or visually impaired
• made contributions with national or regional implications
• improved advocacy efforts
• made innovative or replicated contributions
• had a positive effect on professions serving people who are blind or visually impaired
• influenced the blindness system
• positively influenced individuals as a mentor or role model
• exemplified spirit of voluntarism