Awards / Scholarships

Al Beck Award

This award, in memory of Al Beck, is given to honor a Washington State member who exemplifies the principles of service that were so diligently represented by Al Beck's contributions to the organization. Al Beck is considered to be one of the founding fathers of A4LE in the Pacific Northwest. This award is given to honor a Washington State A4LE member who exemplifies the principles of service that were so diligently represented by Al Beck’s contributions to the organization. The winner will be selected by past Al Beck Award recipients and the award will be presented at the Pacific Northwest Regional Conference in November.

Past Al Beck Award recipients include: Jim Jennings, Alberta Mehring, Chas Chisom, Steve Young, Gretchen DeDecker, Merle Kirkley, Jack Hutteball, Gary Nelson, Ralph Saxton, Bill Chaput, Jay Peterson, Cheri Hendricks, Debra Fulton, Peter Wall, Edward Peters, Steve Murakami, Kelley Tanner, Guy Overman, Shannon Brush, Greg Hepp, Michael McGavock and Philip Riedel.

2020 Merle Kirkley Merit Scholarship

The $3,000 Merle Kirkley Merit Scholarship Award is a competitive merit-based scholarship program designed to provide financial support for Washington State high school students planning to obtain a post-secondary education. Applicants must demonstrate that their intent is to major, or obtain a certificate in, a field relating to educational facility planning and design. Fields related to educational facility design include (but are not limited to): school planning, architecture, engineering, product services and construction management.

Click here to download more information on the scholarship and the forms for completion.

Submission Deadline: by 5:00 pm on June 19, 2020

2021 Design Exhibit and Awards

The Polished Apple Award Program recognizes outstanding educational facilities in the state of Washington. The program follows criteria from the Association’s LEsolutions Planning & Design Awards Program and the PNW Region’s Pinnacle Award Program, so as to encourage Chapter projects to also compete at the regional and international levels.

This year, the submittal requirements for the Washington Chapter Polished Apple may include 1 video in the Optional Materials.

This program recognizes learning projects which positively impact teaching and learning and result from a sound planning process reflecting the needs and expectations of the community.

Award Categories

Polished Apple Award: Awarded to the single most distinctive project, which best satisfies the criteria; one winner.

Awards of Merit: These awards recognize exceptional projects that were not the Polished Apple Award winner, but are deserving of recognition according to the criteria. Number of awards is at the Jury’s discretion, if any.

People’s Choice Award: Attendees at the Conference will have the opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice Award. The winner will receive the Merit Award level of recognition.

2020 Schedule
Call for Submittals	February 6, 2021 Award Program document available, registration site available for payment
Early Bird Registration	March 17, 2021 Payment due online at the same time or before electronic materials are submitted
Electronic Submittal Due	May 16, 2021
Display Boards Due	June 19, 2021 /  4:00 pm at BLRB Architects (we will be displaying both 2020 & 2021 boards at the rescheduled Washington Chapter Conference in Wenatchee)
Award Announcements	June 23, 2021, 8:30 am, Wenatchee Convention Center

Contacts

Polished Apple Program Co-Chairs:
Andy Cottrill (acottrill@blrb.com)
Robert Landa (rlanda@studioms.com)
Kristina Feliciano (kfeliciano@studioms.com)
Stephen Clark (sclark@integrusarch.com)
Karen Wood (kwood@MAHLUM.com)
Exhibition Coordinator: Andy Cottrill (acottrill@blrb.com)
Member Care Manager: Donna Robinson (donna@a4le.org)

Registration and Entry Fee

Register

Fees are as follows per project, to be paid at the time of registration:

A4LE Members
$300 USD for projects registered on or before March 17
$350 USD for projects registered after March 17  

Non-Members
$350 USD for projects registered on or before March 17
$400 USD for projects registered after March 17  

Online registration, payment, and identification of the following must be done prior to submitting the project dossier for judging:

• Identify project (Name, location, district).
• Identify key firms/individuals of the process.

Please note: You will need to fill out the Confidential form and Photo Release form in addition to filling out the online project registration.

Download the Award Program submittal guidelines
Download the Confidential Information sheet
Download Photo Release form

For any questions or issues regarding online registration or payment, please contact the Member Care Manager listed above in the Contacts section.