The first two recipients of the award are Mr. Lee Cockerell (2006) and Dr. Corey A. Billington (2007). Both of the recipients are the most esteemed members of the POM field. Mr. Lee Cockerell, retired as the Executive Vice President of Operations for the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S.A. and now runs his own consultancy firm, Lee Cockerell, LLC. His company focuses on leadership and management training and development with an emphasis on service excellence for organizations around the world. Lee also continues to do leadership training for the world renowned Disney Institute. For more information to Lee’s web site: www.LeeCockerell.com

As Executive Vice President of Operations at Walt Disney World, Mr. Cockerell instituted many innovative and imaginative programs. He used his authority and position to create a workplace environment that provided great leadership at all levels, which focused on what Lee titled the Four Employee Expectations which are: 1) Make Me Feel Special, 2) Treat Me as an Individual, 3) Respect Me, 4) Train and Develop me.

Dr. Corey Billington, recently returned to the world of Academia as Professor of Operation Management and Procurement at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland after having worked for several companies including Hewlett Packard (HP) where he mastered the ability to drive supply chain improvements through the application of Production and Operations Management practices.

We are now seeking nominations for the third award which will be presented during the nineteenth annual POMS’ conference to be held in La Jolla, California, U.S.A., from May 9 to May 12, 2008. The nominating committee consists of the following:
• Corey A. Billington (IMD, Switzerland)
• Lee Cockerell, Lee Cockerell, LLC ( retired Executive VP Walt Disney World® Resort (Chair)
• Sushil Gupta, Professor, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
• Rafael Menda, Director, Operations Strategic Planning, McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
• Martin Starr, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, U.S.A.

General Guidelines
• The award is for an "individual" and not for the "organization".
• The award is open to professionals at all levels working in the Operations Management area in service and manufacturing industries; as well as in not-for-profit and government organizations.
• The award is based on exceptional quality of contribution to the POM field. These contributions are not restricted to a single organization and may span time spent at several organizations during the career of the candidate. The cumulative contributions made by the candidate during his/her career will be evaluated.
• In addition to receiving an attractive plaque, the award recipient will be prominently featured in the POMS Chronicle and POMS Web Page. The award ceremony includes a full description of the contributions of the award winner who is encouraged to respond briefly.

Please send your nominations to Lee Cockerell (Lee@LeeCockerell.com) with a copy to Sushil Gupta (poms@fiu.edu) by February 28, 2008. The nomination should include a resume of the candidate and a narrative, not to exceed two pages, of the contributions to POM during the career of the candidate.

Thank you all….
Lee Cockerell, Chair, Nominating Committee