Every year, the Ladies Auxiliary presents a variety of awards in
recognition of those who have made the world a better place in which to live or have
otherwise furthered the aims of mankind. To ensure that the selection of recipients not be
encumbered by rules that might impose invalid or ill-timed restrictions upon the judges,
there are no set criteria to be met for these awards.
Some of the Ladies Auxiliary's awards are reserved for Auxiliary members. These include awards such as the Community Activities Silver Plate Award for Excellence presented to units as a whole. This award was first presented in 1977, to the Post No.2926 Auxiliary of Cleveland, Ohio, for its efforts to promote legislation benefiting infants and children with mental and physical disabilities. Other awards, such as the President of the Year Award, recognize individual achievement. This award was first presented in 1960 to June Moore, President of the Department of Louisiana.
In addition to singling out its own members for praise, the Ladies Auxiliary also presents several annual awards to nonmembers in recognition of humanitarian action and civic betterment. Two of these - the Better World Award and a second award whose name changes yearly - are allied with the theme chosen by the National Auxiliary President for that year. For example, in 1972 to 1973, when the Auxiliary's priority was controlling drug abuse, the Better World Award was presented to television personality Art Linkletter in recognition of his personal drug education crusade. In 1986, a special Serve America Award was created and presented to newspaper columnist Abigail "Dear Abby" Van Buren.
Another annual award is the Unsung Heroine Award, given to a deserving woman who is not nationally known. Candidates for this award are nominated by Auxiliary national officers, and the Awards Committee then makes the final selection. The Award consists of $3000 and a large framed citation with the title of the award printed in gold letters upon a red velvet backpiece.
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