All Over Albany

Open call for Henry Johnson Award 2018 nominations, and a design prize for a commemorative medallion

The city of Albany will again be recognizing a city resident this year with the Henry Johnson Award for Distinguished Community Service. And the call for nominations is open through April 13 at 5 pm. (See that link for how to nominate someone.)

From the award rules:

Individuals may not nominate themselves, nor may they be nominated by members of the Award Committee. They may be nominated by family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues/coworkers and employees.

The winner will be selected at the discretion of the Award Committee, based on the strength of the nomination, including the length of service to the community and impact of work as described by the nominator.

This is the second year for the annual award. The first -- issued last June -- went to James Dandles, who was part of group of people who worked for decades to get the story of the Albany WWI hero officially recognized.

Henry Johnson medallion
The recipient of this year's Henry Johnson Award will also receive a commemorative coin-shaped medallion produced by the Ferris Coin Co. And the shop has an open call for the design of the coin.

Ferris will select two designs -- one for each side of the coin -- and the designers will each receive $1,000. Contest blurbage:

The obverse, or front, of the coin-shaped medallion should feature an accurate likeness of Sgt. Henry Johnson based on historical photographs in the public domain and should feature the following inscriptions: "Sgt. Henry Johnson," "Enlisted 05 JUN 1917" and "Albany, NY." The design for the reverse side of the medallion is more open to artistic expression; according to the guidelines, artists should clearly and creatively interpret concepts such as duty, honor, sacrifice or civic responsibility. Artists are further encouraged to symbolize a connection between Johnson's commitment to duty and the civic duty each of us shares today in order to inspire forward thinking about our own community involvement.

The winners will be selected by "an expert jury composed of esteemed professional artists and a representative of the 369th Veteran's Association."

The deadline for submissions is April 17. And as with any process like this, it's worth reading the rules and details.

Earlier: Henry Johnson awarded the Medal of Honor (2015)