Professional Manager of the Year

Awarded to an OPPA member from the rank and file of purchasing manager or supervisor as selected by the designated committee, it honors the individual who demonstrates outstanding professionalism and has contributed significantly to the field of public purchasing during the calendar year.

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Professional Buyer of the Year

This recognition is presented to an OPPA member from the rank and file of buyer or purchaser as selected by the designated committee. It is awarded annually to the individual who demonstrates outstanding professionalism and has contributed significantly to the field of public purchasing during the calendar year.

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Harold F. Vaughn Award

Since 1998, The Harold F. Vaughan Service Award has acknowledged and recognized professional purchasers who have provided exemplary service to OPPA over the course of their distinguished career in government procurement.

Named for Harold F. Vaughan, CPPO, C.P.M., retired Purchasing Director from the City of Portland. and a lifetime member of both the chapter and a long-time member of NIGP, Vaughan played a critical role in advocating public purchasing, helped raise the level of professionalism in public purchasing in Oregon, and was a recipient of NIGP's Distinguished Service Award.

A nominee must be a current or past member of OPPA, not a current board member, nominated by a peer and have extensive public purchasing experience. They need not be retired from public purchasing to be eligible for this award.

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President's Award

The President's Award honors a chapter member who demonstrated outstanding leadership and accomplishment in the field of professional public purchasing. The recipient is selected by the current OPPA president, and does not carry a specific criteria or application process. The recipient is honored at the Annual Spring Conference and the recipient's name remains confidential until the award presentation.

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Volunteer of the Year

This award shall be presented to an OPPA chapter member who have made a significant difference in the success of OPPA by:

• providing a needed service to OPPA
• exceeding the expectations of the chapter
• demonstrating that an initiative was instrumental in the development of programs, ideas or methods to solve problems and/or enhance OPPA's strategic goals and objectives
• displaying character that has made a positive difference to the membership
• providing an activity or service which resulted in positive changes for the chapter.

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Mentor of the Year

This award recognizes an individual who has been served as a mentor (formally or informally) to an OPPA member and who has demonstrated a commitment to the chapter and contributed to the development and success of another member's career and the profession.
Participation in OPPA's Mentorship Program is not a requirement, and eligibility for award is not contingent upon recipient having met ALL of the criteria listed below.

• Has generously and selflessly passed along their experience and knowledge
• Continuously promotes a sense of camaraderie within the profession
• Promotes team spirit within the recipient's agency, and facilitates positive communications
• Has demonstrated both the art and science of public purchasing within the public procurement arena
• Has shown the mentored member how to navigate the politics within the member's agency
• Has inspired the member to achieve professional goals and provided valuable assistance to the member in achieving those goals
• Is the go-to person for answers to especially vexing or perplexing problems.
• Is acknowledged by the mentored member as having initiated their entry into the profession.

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Attendance at NIGP Forum

If an OPPA recipient wishes to compete for the national award and submits a completed submission form to NIGP, financial support in the amount of the NIGP Forum registration cost and up to an additional $750.00 for transportation and hotel expenses will be provided to the recipient to assist with attendance at the current year's NIGP Annual Forum and Products Exposition.

Allowable reimbursable expenses are limited to those identified in SECTION 37 OTHER OPPA PROVISION AND GUIDELINES of the OPPA Handbook under "Reimbursements allowed for the president's and vice president's attendance at the annual NIGP Forum".

Appropriate documentation must be provided to the OPPA treasurer to claim the reimbursement.


Local and National Recognition

Award recipients will be recognized in the following manner:

• The president will submit recipients' names to NIGP.
• The Website Committee will post the recipients' names on the OPPA Website.
• The Newsletter Committee will announce the recipients' names in the OPPA newsletter.
• The Awards Taskforce will issue a press release accompanied by photo of the recipient(s), if available, to one or more newspapers including a newspaper near the hometown of the recipient. Traditionally, the Daily Journal of Commerce is also notified.