The Screening Committee is responsible for obtaining and selecting the best qualified nominees for CIBA-GEIGY Recognition Award in entomology, the Sandoz Award for Excellence in Pest Management (formerly the J. E. Bussart Memorial Award), the ESA Recognition Award in Urban Entomology, and the Distinguished Achievement Awards for Teaching, Extension, and Regulatory Entomology.

When selecting the chair and committee members, Screening Committee membership for five years preceding should be reviewed to avoid using the same individuals on the Screening Committee. Efforts should also be made to avoid those who may be nominated for any one of the awards. This may be accomplished by reviewing awardees over the past several years. It is further recommended that younger or more recent members of ESA be nominated to serve on the Screening Committee from the various disciplines rather than selecting only the "old hands". An attempt should be made to have representation from the various interest groups, i. e., teaching, industry, extension, regulatory, etc.

Chair: The President-Elect shall appoint a Chair who will assume responsibility after the final business meeting of the Branch. To provide continuity. the chair will be selected from among the members of the previous year's Screening Committee. The chair is not necessarily a position that rotates.

Additional Members: It will be the responsibility of the Chair to suggest additional members to the President. Members on the Screening Committee should include representatives from research (State and Federal), extension, teaching, industry, and regulatory entomology.

The Screening Committee shall prepare a letter outlining the awards involved, the information required, and the format to be followed for submission of nominees. A copy of the latest regulations as published in the Bulletin should be included with the letter. The letter should be sent to: a) the heads of all State and private institutions that teach or are involved in entomology research or extension; b) Administrator, Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; c) Chief, U.S. Forest Service; d) Chairman, Eastern Plant Board; e) Deputy Administrator, Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S.D.A.; f) the Food and Drug Administration; g) the Environmental Protection Agency; h) the U.S. Department of the Interior; i) Executive Secretary, Armed Forces Pest Management Board; j) National Agricultural Chemicals Association; k) Chemical Specialties Manufacturing Association; l) National Pest Control Association; and m) to any other member or agency expressing an interest in the Eastern Branch of ESA. This mailing list should be maintained by the Chair and updated yearly.

It is the responsibility of the members of the Screening Committee to follow through and encourage the submission of nominations from their respective groups. For example, the representative from regulatory entomology will work with the various agencies and groups that have regulatory entomologists on their rolls. Likewise, the extension entomology representative will work with extension entomology groups, and the industry representatives should work with industry groups in selecting nominees for whatever category is appropriate.

The Chair shall provide to his/her successor all of the information relating to the operations of the committee, including: a) an updated list of the past Screening Committee members; b) a current list of the ESA national winners and the Eastern Branch nominees; c) the names of institutions, agencies, and organizations to which solicitation letters were sent; d) a copy of the current guidelines utilized in operating the committee; e) a copy of the solicitation letter and attachments used in requesting nominations; and f) a copy of selection criteria or guidelines as established by the Screening Committee for evaluating the ranking nominees.

To carry out the responsibility of the committee, the following guidelines are suggested:

1. The Screening Committee should forward letters of solicitation to the various agencies, institutions, and organizations discussed above by 8 months before annual meeting (July 1).

2. The Screening Committee will prepare a Call for Nominations to be included in the first mailing to Eastern Branch members and will arrange for publication of this notice in the next issue of the ESA Newsletter.

3. The cutoff date for submission of nominees to the Screening Committee is 5 months before annual meeting (October 1).

4. The Chair of the committee shall forward completed copies of the documented nominees to all committee members by 4 1/2 months before annual meeting (October 15).

5. Each committee member shall evaluate the nominees and submit their evaluation in rank order for each award to the Chair by 3 1/2 months before annual meeting (November 15). The committee members should return all supporting papers submitted for each nominee to the Chair so that the proper documentation may be forwarded by the Chair to ESA headquarters.

6. The Chair will prepare a rank order of all nominees on the basis of committee members' recommendation and select the top individual as the Branch nominee for each award. For those awards allowing up to two awardees, the name of the runner-up also should be selected if there is a strong second nominee. The Chair shall advise committee members and the President of the Branch of the selections.

7. The names of the selections for each award will be sent to the Secretary of the Branch by the Chair no later than 3 1/2 months before annual meeting (November 15) so that their names may be printed in the program of the next Branch meeting.

8. The Chair will send a letter of transmittal with five copies of documentation supporting nominees to ESA headquarters to the attention of the Executive Director by 3 months before annual meeting (December 1).