Portland Local Seeking Nominations for Robert Blanche Service Award

I am reaching out to ask you to submit nominees for the SAG-AFTRA Portland Local's 2021 Robert Blanche Service Award. This award will be presented virtually during the local’s annual membership meeting on Thursday, April 22, 2021.

The Local's Awards Committee is charged with recognizing a local member who is lauded by their peers for their exemplary service to our union and their community. As chair of this committee, I am honored to head up this task, as Robert was a good friend, my mentor, and a heavy influence on me, personally and professionally.  

Please submit your nominations to portland@sagaftra.org, at which point the committee will consider them according to the guidelines laid out below. 

Guidelines for nomination considerations, inspired by Mr. Blanche himself:

• The nominee should have been a member of the SAG-AFTRA Portland Local for five years or more.

• The nominee should demonstrate consistency of service (rather than length of service). As such, a nominee who is relatively new to the local, but has engaged in a steady level of service can be nominated.

• The nominee should be a leader who has demonstrated these qualities in our local:

   · Members who show up to events and are visible in their advocacy for the union and the local to producers, the performing community (union or non) and the public.  

   · Members who work behind the scenes and who may not be as visible as others in their work to support the greater community.

   · Members who drive innovation in the local through embracing and educating community members about new processes in our industry.

   · Members who consistently make themselves available to workers in the entertainment community and who act as a resource to members and non-members.
   · Members who demonstrate a vision for the local and our region’s entertainment industry. 
   · Members who educate people working in our industry.

• The nominee should inspire members of our region’s entertainment industry to be better, to join SAG-AFTRA, and to work at a higher level.

I want to invite and encourage you to nominate a qualified fellow member for our award by sending an email stating that nomination to chris.comte@sagaftra.org. Deadline is Wednesday, April 7, 2021.

The committee looks forward to receiving the nominations and to presenting our SAG-AFTRA Portland Local's 2021 Robert Blanche Service Award to an amazing member of our Local in April!

— By Local Awards Committee Chair Todd Robinson for the Portland newsletter.