Tips for planning an Event or Presentation Ceremony

Congratulations!

A teacher or an early childhood educator from your school or child care centre has won a Prime Minister's Award (PMA)! Winning this award is a tremendous accomplishment and a proud moment not only for the teacher or educator, but for their colleagues, students and the children in their care.


Celebrate!

You may wish to organize a special event or presentation ceremony to recognize this outstanding achievement. It's a perfect occasion for the official presentation of their Award Certificate signed by the Prime Minister as well as their PMA pin.

The sky is the limit when it comes to planning your event. Past recipients have been honoured at various types of celebratory events, such as:

  • Stand-alone ceremonies;
  • Community gatherings;
  • School assemblies;
  • School board meetings;
  • Class or child care centre celebrations, etc.

If you are planning an event or presentation ceremony to honour a recipient, you might find the information below useful.


Involve your Member of Parliament

Members of Parliament (MP) with Award recipients in their constituencies are informed by the PMA program office about the winning teacher or early childcare educator. Depending on their availability, an MP may wish to participate in your event and present the award certificate to the recipient. You may choose to present your recipient with his or her pin prior to the event so they can wear it at the ceremony.

Please consider the following information when inviting an MP to your event:

  • School principals and centre directors will be sent the Contact information for their respective MP once the recipients are announced by the Prime Minister.
  • Mondays and Fridays are best for MPs when Parliament is in session.
  • More information about your MP can be found on the Parliamentary website.

Inform the media

Winning a Prime Minister's award is a good news story that local media will want to hear about. Before contacting local radio, television and newspaper outlets please keep a few things in mind:

  • Obtain permission of the recipient before any media release or public announcement;
  • Consult with the recipient on the times he or she is available to speak to the media;
  • Designate someone to greet reporters and introduce them to the award recipient; and
  • Follow all school, school board and childcare setting policies on media contact.

If the media wishes to interview a student taught by the recipient, we recommend the following steps:

  • Select an articulate student;
  • Obtain parental consent; and
  • Ensure the student is available at the appropriate time.

Increase media coverage

To improve your success in generating local media coverage, tailored media advisory templates are available on our website. We recommend sending the advisory to the media, along with the recipient's biography and a Prime Minister's Awards program backgrounder to encourage media interest.


Timing is everything

Send your media advisory to your local media by email or fax. You can usually find the Contact information for the main newsroom on their website. Send your advisory to target media one week ahead of the event, and follow up by phone to verify if additional information is needed.


Picture perfect

Some publications may request a photograph to include with the news story. We suggest arranging to have someone take pictures at the presentation ceremony. Candid pictures work best. If children or students are in photos for media use, please ensure parental consent is obtained beforehand. A photo release form is available on our website.


Inform fellow educators

Everyone loves to hear good news! If your school or child care centre publishes a newsletter, you may wish to include an article about the award recipient and his or her award. Another option is to publish the news and a photo of the recipient on the school or centre's website.


Contact us

Please keep us informed of the date and time of your event by contacting us at
ic.primeministersawards-prixdupremierministre.ic@canada.ca.

Thank you for participating in the Prime Minister's Awards. We hope your event is a great success!