The Wilmington Rotary Club will recognize persons in the Cape Fear Region who have demonstrated significant, positive, long-term leadership achievements in the Wilmington and/or greater Cape Fear region with the Legacy Award.  The Legacy Award is not an annual award but rather is awarded by the Wilmington Rotary Club to individuals who meet the sustained leadership achievements described.

The Legacy Award is awarded to an individual who has:

  • Years of dedicated service in either the not-for-profit, public, or private sector either as an employee or volunteer and
  • Has created a legacy by giving back and having a widely recognized and positive impact in Wilmington and/or the greater Cape Fear region. The legacy has been demonstrated by the positive effect the person has had on the lives of others.

Nomination Criteria

  • Describe any Clubs/Organizations to which the nominee belonged/belongs.
  • If the nominee was not in a leadership position, how did they:
    • Exhibit leadership characteristics or take an unofficial leadership role that contributed to organizational goals; that resulted in the successful completion of projects over a sustained period of time; make a difference in the lives of others; make an impact in the Community?
    • Inspire or guide others.
    • Model servant leadership
  • How has the nominee modeled the values embedded in the Four Way Test?
  • What are the nominee’s specific accomplishments? What specific contributions has the nominee made in Wilmington and/or the greater Cape Fear region

Nomination and Award Process

  • We will open the Legacy award nominations immediately following the LIS nomination process
  • Nominations will be accepted from Wilmington Rotary Club members only.
  • Elected officials are not eligible, however, an individual who is retired from elected service is eligible.
  • The nominations will be screened by the LIS Committee Chairs and a recommendation for the Legacy award will be made to the Rotary Board for approval, if nominations are received that the LIS Chair Committee determines are deserving.   The Legacy award will only be recommended if the LIS Chairs determine that a candidate clearly meets award criteria.
  • The Legacy award will be presented at the LIS Banquet.
  • The individual’s story will not be in the video so description of individual’s service and basis for Legacy award will be live and
  • The Legacy award will be clearly differentiated from the LIS awards in appearance and in presentation.

The attached form is used for persons who wish to nominate individuals for this annual award. Type the information requested and attach a narrative description of why the person nominated is deserving of the award (approximately 300-500 words).  Remember, the Leaders in Service Committee and Rotary Board can only evaluate the candidate based on the information provided.   It is important that your narrative provides relevant information but is clear and concise.

Legacy nominations will be evaluated based on following considerations:

  • Years of service to Cape Fear region
    • Significant (5-10 years)
    • Major (10-20 years)
    • Exceptional (>20 years)
  • Impact area (Identify all that apply)
    • Economic
    • Community service
    • Arts
    • Public Service
    • Education
    • Health
  • Magnitude of service impact
    • Moderate – Efforts resulted in observable change
    • Significant – Efforts resulted in revision to policy or practices
    • Major – Efforts resulted in new policy or practices
    • Exceptional – Efforts resulted in setting new direction and transformational change
  • Describe impact of service
  • Identify other factors to consider such as previous awards and honors