ALPO AWARDS

The A.L.P.O. offers two awards. The Walter H. Haas Observer’s Award and the Peggy Haas Service Award.

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The Walter H. Haas Observer’s Award

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The Walter H. Haas Observer’s Award is bestowed annually (generally when the A.L.P.O. meets in the summer), to an amateur astronomer for excellence in observational Solar System astronomy. This award is named after our founder and original executive director, and was established in 1985. The selection of this award is conducted by a committee convened by its committee chairman,Walter H. Haas. The composition of the committee changes from year to year so that the responsibility of selection is shared by a wider group of members in the A.L.P.O. that are well qualified, while allowing others that vote one year, to be considered for the award in another year, when not serving on the committee.

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This award is given for excellence in Solar System observational amateur astronomy. Work done as part of the observer’s job must be regarded as professional work and is not considered as an amateur effort for this award. However, a professional astronomer can be recognized for work done when he or she was an amateur. Theoretical research, the publishing of papers, astronomical correspondence, financial support of amateur projects, and many other meritorious astronomical activities must likewise be ignored in choosing the awardee (the A.L.P.O. does have another award, the Peggy Haas Service Award, which can recognize such outstanding services). The awardee need not be an active observer at the present time, nor does he or she need to be alive. Nor is this award for observations in any particular year or other time interval. Thus the Award in the present year might be for contributions in the 20th Century. There is absolutely no requirement that the awardee be a citizen or resident of the United States. It is enjoyable when the awardee can attend the A.L.P.O. Convention at which the presentation is to be made, but this matter is no criterion for the selection of the awardee. It is, however, required that the awardee well represent the ideals of the A.L.P.O..

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The Award itself consists of an engraved plaque. The awardee also receives a two-year complimentary membership in the A.L.P.O.. The previous recipients are listed below in alphabetical order with the year that they received the Award.

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Richard M. Baum	2005	Mario Frassati	2003	Isao Miyazaki	1997
Jeffrey D Beish	1989	Christopher Go	2008	Detlev Niechoy	2010
John Boudreau	2011	Gordon W. Garcia	2000	Jose Olivarez	1993
Phillip W. Budine	1992	Alan W. Heath	1998	Dr. Donald C. Parker	1986
Charles (“Chick”) Capen	1985	Alika Herring	1991	Damian Peach	2004
Thomas R. Cave	1996	Richard E. Hill	1999	Christophe Pellier	2007
Thomas A. Cragg	2009	David H. Levy	1987	Elmer J. Reese	1995
Dr. Jean Dragesco	1990	Don E. Machholz	1994	Richard W. Schmude, Jr.	2002
William M. Dembowski	2006	Frank J. Melillo	2001	Dr. John E. Westfall	1988

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The Peggy Haas Service Award

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The Peggy Haas Service Award was established to recognize a member of the A.L.P.O. for outstanding service to our organization. This award was named after our founder’s late wife, for her past support of the A.L.P.O. in many meaningful and indispensable ways from assisting her husband with the Journal, to creating a banner that hangs in front of the rostrum at A.L.P.O. paper sessions at our annual meetings. She was also the A.L.P.O.’s Librarian for its book lending service from 1966 to 1985. The award was inaugurated in 1997. The current executive director solely selects the recipient for this award. The Peggy Haas Award can recognize an A.L.P.O. officer, board member, volunteer staff member, or non staff Peggy (formally Beryl E.) Haas, circa 1954, member that has contributed outstanding service in courtesy of Walter H. Haas some way to the organization, in a capacity excluding observational skills (observational skills are recognized by the Walter H. Haas Award). Considered not to be an annual award, presentation will occur when appropriate and not at any specific time interval. The Award itself consists of an engraved plaque. The awardee also receives a lifetime membership in the A.L.P.O..

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Past recipients the Peggy Haas Service Award are listed below in alphabetical order with the year that they received the Award.

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Julius L. Benton, Jr.	2011
Walter H. Haas	1997
Richard E. Hill	2005
Harry D. Jamieson	2001
Don E. Machholz	2000
Kenneth T. Poshedly	2010
Elizabeth W. Westfall	2004
John E. Westfall	1998
Matthew L. Will	2003