During the 2019 TAA Awards Ceremony on June 14th in Philadelphia, PA, in addition to honoring our thirty-one Textbook Award winners, five individuals were honored with TAA Council awards recognizing exemplary contributions to the Association and the authoring community, and two individuals were inducted into the TAA Council of Fellows.

The awards were given by Mike Kennamer, TAA Council President during the ceremony. His remarks on each of the winners and inductees are included below.

2019 President’s Award for extraordinary service to TAA

Kennamer “decided to buck the system a bit and award two president’s awards this year.” The first award went to Maureen Foerster with the following remarks.

“The first is one of the first TAA people I met. I was in Reno at my first TAA conference in 2013 and, as the incoming secretary, had been invited to sit in on the council meeting held the day before the conference. One of the first people that I had a conversation with is someone with a delightful personality, a can-do attitude, and a work ethic second to none. Now those of you who know me, know that I’m a bit of an introvert. But when this person came up and started talking to me, I was made to feel very welcome and became really engaged in conversation about the conference, the organization, and the council. The enthusiasm exuded by this person rubbed off, and while I don’t show it in the same way that many people do, this encounter made me excited about TAA and what we can accomplish together.

Since then, I have worked closely with this person on a number of projects, and have found that excitement, enthusiasm, and hard work to be as strong or perhaps stronger today than it was in 2013. Since 2013, a number of things have changed. The organization hired a full-time executive director, and a number of job duties have shifted among staff.

In 2013, at the conference in Reno, we had about 55 people in attendance. A couple years later, our attendance had almost doubled. The next year, it had almost tripled. Maureen Foerster didn’t ask to be the conference planner, but when she was asked to take it on, she took it on 100%.

Not only has our attendance increased, our costs have decreased. Maureen is a highly-skilled negotiator. When I was chair of the conference committee, I joked that the next time I bought a car I wanted to fly Maureen in to negotiate for me. She has negotiated some fantastic rates for us, which has allowed us to meet in some venues that would have never gotten but for her skill in negotiation.

Maureen also expertly prepares the TAA newsletter and has reorganized our workshop and chapter programs, making them both significantly more efficient and cost-effective. In fact, our workshop program brings in more new members to TAA than anything else we do.

So if you are enjoying this year’s conference, or enjoy reading the newsletter, or have otherwise been impacted by Maureen’s service to the organization, (and if you are in this room, you have), please join me in congratulating Maureen Foerster as the recipient of the 2019 President’s Award!”

The second President’s Award recipient was Steve Barkan. Kennamer shared the following remarks about Steve.

“So as I said, I didn’t limit myself to one president’s award this year, because I wanted to recognize another person who has been instrumental in TAA’s success, growth, and stability over the past several years.

I also met this person at that first conference I attended in 2013. I was coming on the council as secretary and he was coming on council as vice president/president-elect.

Since that sort of gives away who it is, I’ll say that Steve Barkan has been a quiet, diligent leader in TAA as long as I have been active on the council. Though he agreed to serve as president, he never seeks the limelight, and has worked very hard to advance the association in every role that he has held. He and I have presented together at the conference, we have written a blog article together, and when he was vice president, he nominated me to succeed him in that role.

Serving on council and being an officer in TAA requires a good deal of time and effort. We have an excellent professional staff that guides the daily operations, but the officers are called upon for a number of items. In the past six years of working with Steve, every time he was asked to do something or to lend his advice, he responded quickly, thoughtfully, and with a great deal of wisdom.

As someone who has followed him as vice president, then president, and past president, I cannot think of a better example of service to an organization than Steve. I have learned a great deal about TAA, about leadership, and about service from Steve. For that reason, I wish to recognize him as the 2019 President’s Award recipient.”

Norma Hood Award – For devotion and commitment to TAA demonstrated through works performed outside the limelight

“The Norma Hood Award, named for a former staff member, is awarded to an individual who has demonstrated a commitment to TAA by quietly working outside the limelight to help move the organization forward.

This year’s Norma Hood Award goes to a special person. Unfortunately, due to health concerns, he is unable to be with us this year. But this man is no stranger to TAA. He has served on council, written newsletter articles, and served as our executive director for eight years. I am speaking, of course, of our good friend, Richard Hull!

Richard did not know that he was to receive this award but called Mike Spinella a couple weeks ago to let him know that his health simply would not let him attend the conference this year. We will be sure that Richard receives this award with all our appreciation.”

Mike Keedy Award – For enduring service to authors

“The Mike Keedy award is named for one of our founding members, and is specifically targeted for those who make exceptional efforts in service to authors or the authoring community. In the case of this year’s winner, the service to authors comes in the form of educating them about royalties and helping them to defend their rights or simply navigate the complex mysteries of royalty statements.

She has conducted webinars for TAA and regularly presents at the annual Conference. In addition, she has served as a helpful advisor to Kim as she sought objective information for our blog posts about the Cengage Unlimited plan and its likely effects on author royalties. On top of all that, she is preparing to begin her second term as TAA’s Treasurer. The Mike Keedy Award this year goes to Juli Saitz.”

Paul Anderson Award – In recognition of exceptional efforts to advance the Textbook & Academic Authors Association and serve its members

“Awardees are nominated for this next award for their special efforts in promoting TAA to their colleagues, at their university, or in the authoring community. It is also given for extraordinary service to TAA and its members. Activities such as encouraging faculty and students to join TAA, public advocacy of authoring issues and values, or helping establish or chair a TAA Chapter may qualify members for the award.

This year’s winner is a longtime TAA member and Council member who has worked in a number of areas for the organization. She also helps promote workshops for TAA at her own university and has managed to get several of her colleagues interested in attending TAA meetings and becoming members.

This winner is the kind of person who simply says ‘yes’ when you ask if she can help out. She has led Strategic Planning efforts for TAA; she currently serves on the Executive Committee, the Governance Committee, andthe Personnel Committee! She has served two full terms as Secretary of TAA, and on June 30, she will step down after 11 years as a Council member and/or officer of TAA! We can only hope that she is taking a much deserved, but short, break, and that she will return to council soon. With much appreciation, the Paul Anderson Award for this year goes to Claudia Sanchez!”

TAA Council of Fellows

Induction into the Council of Fellows is the premier honor bestowed by TAA. This year two new members were inducted. Kennamer’s remarks on each are below.

“It is my privilege now to announce the induction of two new members into TAA’s Council of Fellows. The Council of Fellows is the highest honor TAA confers on an author. It signifies a career-long commitment and exercise of excellence in teaching, academic and/or textbook authoring, service to authors, and service to the TAA community.

The committee that makes these selections includes members of the Council of Fellows, as well as the TAA President and Immediate Past President. We review applications and CVs with care, to ensure that all nominees who are admitted to the Council of Fellows have a solid record of accomplishment, but even more important, expect to continue striving to contribute in their academic discipline and to TAA.

With that said, I am proud to announce the first of our Council of Fellows inductees for this year.

Kevin Patton is a longtime member and contributor to TAA. He regularly presents at this conference and contributes to The Academic Author newsletter. He was recently elected as Vice President/President-Elect of TAA, and will take the role of vice president next month. In fact, three years from now you will find him on this stage as your president.

On a personal note, I was using Kevin’s books long before I ever met him—and was impressed by his writing. Now that I have had the privilege to get to know him, I am even more impressed. Congratulations Kevin!

Our second Council of Fellows inductee is also strong contributor to TAA providing content many of you have enjoyed and benefited from. Please join me in congratulating Janet Salmons!

Janet is a regular webinar provider for TAA, and also contributes newsletter articles and conference sessions. Last year, Janet was the winner of our Mike Keedy Award, but was unable to attend the Conference. This year, we are so pleased to have her back with us and are excited to induct her into the Council of Fellows!”