 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
AOS Award Descriptions |
The American Orchid Society grants the following awards to
orchids and exhibitors. AOS awards are a recognized measure of
quality the world over and coveted by hobbyists and commercial
growers alike. An AOS flower quality award adds value to an
orchid in its own right, and as a parent for creating hybrids.
HCC (Highly Commended Certificate)
Awarded to orchid species or hybrids scoring 75 to 79 points
inclusive on a 100-point scale.
AM (Award of Merit)
Awarded to orchid species or hybrids scoring 80 to 89 points
inclusive on a 100-point scale.
FCC (First Class Certificate)
The highest flower-quality award, awarded to orchid species or
hybrids scoring 90 points or more on a 100-point scale.
JC (Judges' Commendation)
Given for distinctive characteristics that the judges unanimously
feel should be recognized but cannot be scored in the customary
ways.
AD (Award of Distinction)
Awarded once to a cross representing a worthy new direction in
Breeding. The award is granted unanimously without scoring by
the judging team assigned.
AQ (Award of Quality)
Awarded once to a cross exhibited by a single individual as a
group of not less than 12 plants or inflorescences of different
clones of a hybrid or cultivated species. At least one of the
inflorescences must receive a flower quality award and the overall
quality of the group must be an improvement over the former type.
CBR (Certificate of Botanical Recognition)
Awarded to rare and unusual species with educational interest
that has received no previous awards. The entire plant must be
exhibited. This award is granted provisionally and filed with the
judging center Chair pending taxonomic verification supplied by
the exhibitor. (see Taxonomic Authorities)
CHM (Certificate of Horticultural Merit)
Awarded to a well-grown and well-flowered species or natural
hybrid with characteristics that contribute to the horticultural
aspects of orchidology, such as aesthetic appeal. This award is
granted provisionally and filed with the judging center Chair
pending taxonomic verification supplied by the exhibitor. (see
Taxonomic Authorities)
CCM (Certificate of Cultural Merit)
Awarded to the exhibitor of a well-flowered specimen plant of
robust health. The plant must score more between 80 and 89
points inclusive on a 100-point scale.
CCE (Certificate of Cultural Excellence)
Awarded to the exhibitor of a well-flowered specimen plant of
robust health. The plant must score more than 90 points on a 100-
point scale. Plants receiving this award represent the highest level
of orchid culture.
American Orchid Society Special Annual Awards
Benjamin C. Berliner Award
This award is given by the AOS Trustees to the grower of the most
outstanding example of the genus Lycaste or its closely allied
genera to have been awarded during the preceding calendar year.
Established in 2000, it was endowed by donations to honor
Benjamin Berliner.
Butterworth Prize
This prestigious honor, the first of the AOS’s permanently
endowed awards, was established in 1966. It is granted annually
by the trustees of the Society to the grower of the plant exhibiting
the finest orchid culture and awarded a Certificate of Cultural Merit
or a Certificate of Cultural Excellence the preceding calendar year.
The endowment for this award was established by Mrs. Rachel
Butterworth Dietz in memory of her parents (John and Nancy
Butterworth) and of George Butterworth Sr., president of the AOS
from 1953 to 1956.
Milton Carpenter Intergeneric Onciidinae Award
The Milton Carpenter Intergeneric Oncidiinae Award was
established by the AOS’s Board of Trustees in October 2005, to be
presented annually to the grower of the orchid plant regarded as
the preceding year’s most outstanding example of intergeneric
hybridizing within the Oncidiinae alliance.
A plant may be simultaneously eligible for the Carpenter, Dugger
or Riopelle Awards; however, the plant may not win more than
one of these prestigious awards. The Carpenter Award was
endowed by donations from friends of Milton Carpenter;
commercial grower, hybridizer and past president of the AOS.
Robert B. Dugger Odontoglossum Award
The Robert B. Dugger Odontoglossum Award, which was
established by the friends of Robert B. Dugger and members of
the Odontoglossum Alliance, was presented by the AOS Trustees
for the first time in 1996 to the grower of the most outstanding
example of the Odontoglossum Alliance. It honors the work of a
man who was responsible for the 1980s renaissance in
odontoglossums.
Roy T. Fukumura Vandaceous Award
The most outstanding vandaceous orchid awarded by the AOS
during the previous calendar year is the recipient of this award
that was established in the autumn of 1992. The award recognizes
the work of Roy Fukumura, in honor of his lifetime
accomplishments in hybridizing.
Herbert Hager Phalaenopsis Award
This award was established in the spring of 1992 by members of
the International Phalaenopsis Alliance and the friends of Herb
Hager. It is granted annually by the Trustees of the AOS to the
grower of the orchid plant, either species or hybrid, regarded as
the most outstanding example of a Phalaenopsis species or
hybrid awarded during the previous year. It recognizes the
accomplishments of the late Herb Hager, his lifelong dedication to
the advancement of orchids, especially phalaenopsis, through
pioneering hybridizing and superior culture.
The Ernest Hetherington Cymbidium Award
This Award is given annually by the Board of Trustees to the
grower of the orchid plant, either standard, miniature or novelty
hybrid, or species, regarded as the most outstanding example of
the Cymbidium Alliance to have been awarded during the
previous calendar year. The award was established in 2006 and
endowed by donations from the Cymbidium Society of America to
honor Ernest Hetherington.
Fred Hillerman Award
This award was established in 2000, and is granted annually by
the Trustees of the AOS to the grower of the orchid plant, either
species or hybrid, regarded as the most outstanding example of
the Angraecoid Alliance awarded during the previous year. The
endowment for this award was established by friends of Fred
Hillerman in recognition of his enthusiastic promotion and
cultivation of angraecoids, his groundbreaking hybridization, and
his unfailing commitment to the education of the public regarding
these orchids.
Merritt W. Huntington Award
Merritt Huntington’s contributions to the orchid community were
recognized when this award was founded in the Autumn of 1992
to recognize the most outstanding plant awarded a First Class
Certificate by the AOS during the previous calendar year. The
endowment for this award was established by the friends of the
late Merritt Huntington in recognition of his lifetime dedication to
the finest in orchids and his service to the American Orchid
Society.
Ann and Phil Jesup Botanical Trophy
Established in 2002, the Ann and Phil Jesup Award recognizes
the grower of the most outstanding orchid species awarded by
the Society during the previous year. The award honors the many
contributions of Ann and Phil Jesup, who have for decades given
generously of their time to help advance the mission of the AOS.
Benjamin Kodama Award
This award is given by the AOS Trustees to the grower of the most
outstanding member of the Dendrobium Alliance. Established in
1996, it was endowed by donations to honor Benjamin Kodama.
One of the orchid pioneers of Hawaii, Kodama is respected
worldwide as a first class hybridizer and grower of different
genera.
Carlyle A. Luer Pleurothallid Award
The endowment for this award was established by the friends of
Carlyle A. Luer, MD, and members of the Pleurothallid Alliance in
the spring of 1992 in recognition of his invaluable, unique
taxonomic work that has inspired the explosive interest in the
Pleurothallidinae in recent years. It is awarded to the grower of the
most outstanding member of the Pleurothallidinae awarded
during the previous year.
Masatoshi Miyamoto Cattleya Alliance Award
This award was established in the autumn of 1991 to be granted
annually by the Trustees of the AOS to the grower of the most
outstanding member of the Cattleya Alliance to receive an award
the previous year. The endowment for the award was established
by the friends of Masatoshi Miyamoto in recognition of his lifelong
dedication to the breeding of fine cattleyas.
James and Marie Riopelle Miltonia Award
This award was established in the autumn of 1993 to recognize
the most outstanding Miltonia or Miltoniopsis species or hybrid. It
is named to honor Oregon’s Marie and Jim Riopelle, in recognition
of their dedication to the advancement of orchids, especially
Miltonia, through pioneering hybridizing and superior culture.
Bill Thoms Award
This Award is given to the grower of the orchid plant, either
species or hybrid, which is regarded as the most outstanding
example of the Bulbophyllinae Subtribe whose award was
officially recorded during the preceding calendar year. The award
was established in 2007 and endowed by donations to recognize
Mr. Bill Thoms, noted Bulbophyllum grower.
W.W. Wilson Cypripedioideae Award
Established in the spring of 1990, this award is granted annually
by the Trustees of the AOS to the grower of the most outstanding
example of the Cypripedioideae awarded by the AOS during the
previous calendar year. The endowment for the award was
established by the friends of Bill Wilson in recognition of his more
than 50 years of service to orchids and their growers.
Nax Botanical Trophy
This prestigious award, the first of the AOS annual awards, was
established in 1964 to be granted each year by the Trustees of the
AOS to the grower of the most outstanding species awarded by
the Society. Mickey and David Nax’s love of orchid species has
been uniquely preserved in some 700 species Mickey cast in gold.
Twelve of these solid gold orchids are encased in the acrylic Nax
Trophy, which was donated to the AOS in 1964 and is now
permanently housed at AOS headquarters. The AOS Board of
Trustees retired this award in 2002.