Michele Steele Best of JALT (MS BOJ) nominations can be made by chapters and SIGS for what is deemed to have been “the best” presentation in that chapter or at a local or regional SIG-sponsored event for the previous calendar year.

The MSBOJ of 2023 will have presented at a 2023 SIG or Chapter event or been published in a 2023 SIG or Chapter publication, but will receive their award at the JALT2024 conference. The deadline for submissions is July 31st; a submission form will be sent to all chapters and SIGs through Basecamp in March. If you’re a chapter or SIG president who cannot locate the message, please please check JALT HQ on Basecamp for the Michelle Steele Best of JALT Award Submissions Announcement , or contact Director of Program, Chelanna White through Basecamp.

Chapters and SIGs can make their Best of JALT nominations in any way that makes sense to them. However, the nominations must fit within the following guidelines:

Only one presentation or article can be nominated for a Best of JALT award by each chapter or SIG. This means that multiple presentations given on the same evening or at the same event/conference are not eligible to all get a certificate–the chapter or SIG must choose one of them. Nor are multiple articles in an edited volume eligible; only one article from a SIG or chapter may be nominated for a Best of JALT award.

One presentation or article with multiple presenters/authors is eligible and all presenters or authors’ names will appear on the certificate. (A duplicate certificate will be given to each presenter or author).

There is no requirement for recipients to be JALT members.

The conference planning committee will revisit these guidelines after each conference to see if they need tweaking.

One final note: Best of JALT awards should only be given to people who have made presentations or written articles–they are not given for other areas of volunteerism. If you want to acknowledge other hard workers in your SIG or chapter, you can, but not with a Best of JALT award.