Welcome
2026-2027 District Recognition and Awards Program
The District 5180 Recognition and Awards Program is designed to recognize the accomplishments of Rotary Clubs and their members in all that they do to serve others.
The Awards criteria is organized into four categories to align with Rotary International's Action Plan designed to Increase Our Impact, Expand Our Reach, Enhance Participant Engagement and Increase Our Ability to Adapt.
In addition to the District Awards, there are several District individual awards. Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation (TRF) club and individual awards are also available. A list along with the applications for each award will be distributed to Club Presidents at least 60 days before the submission deadline of April 9, 2027.
District Awards
- Club of the Year - Awarded to a Club in each size category (Large Club - 54+ members, Medium Club - 25-53 members, Small Club - 24 or fewer members as reflected by Rotary International on July 1, 2026)
- “The Governor's Bell Club” – Awarded to the Club that most reflects the year’s vision of the District Governor of Educating, Serving and Inspiring our communities through Rotary and has been a significant contributor toward the success of the term.
- Category Awards – Awarded to Clubs who attain a certain percentage of points in any one of the following categories with a D5180 Platinum Citation or D5180 Gold Citation for each category and within each club size category:
Impact - Let’s build the practices, infrastructure, and capacity needed to define, measure, track, and analyze data
from our service projects in a much more effective way.
Reach - Let’s share our values with new audiences, create new ways to bring people together to experience the power
of Rotary, and prove we are an organization that is inclusive, engaging, compassionate, and ambitious on behalf of the world.
Engagement - Let’s use every encounter as an opportunity to show people what Rotary can do for them as individuals
and as members of our communities.
Adapt - Let’s work to create a culture of research, innovation, and willingness to take risks in your club
to better serve your community.
Rotarian of the Year and Rookie of the Year
The District Rotarian of the Year and Rookie of the Year will be selected from nominations received from Clubs. Nomination forms can be found on the District website main menu under “For Rotarians > District Recognition and Awards” in the left hand menu. Submission deadline is: Friday, April 9, 2027.
District Hall of Fame
Nominations for the District Hall of Fame are handled by a separate committee and will be selected from nominations received from Clubs. The application is on the District website main menu under “For Rotarians > District Recognition and Awards” in the left hand menu. On that page, you will also find information regarding Rotary Citation award.
Submission deadline is: April 9, 2027.
Important Dates and Deadlines
The District Awards criteria begin July 1, 2026, but note that there may be a few criteria that have earlier dates (before the current Presidential year begins) but count towards the awards.
The deadline for completing the criteria items is April 1, 2027, unless otherwise noted.
All packets must be completed by the club and submitted for review to the club AG. After AG review, they will deliver the packets in their area to the District Awards Chair.
Deadlines Summary:
> July 1, 2026 - The awards timeline starts with limited exceptions.
> April 1, 2027 - The criteria completion end date. Any items that have been scheduled or implemented by the deadline but not completed should be discussed with the Club’s Area AG.
> April 5th, 2027 - Awards packets, signed by the Club President, are due to the AG’s for review.
> April 9th, 2027 - The final awards packet will need to be reviewed and signed by the AG’s and sent to the District Awards Chair, Rob Saxe, rotaryrob.17.18@gmail.com.
> April 9th, 2027 - Rotarian and Rookie of the Year nomination forms can be submitted to your AG’s or directly to the District Awards Chair, Rob Saxe, rotaryrob.17.18@gmail.com.
> April 12th, 2027 - District Awards Committee Meeting.
Completed and signed Awards packet shall be submitted to the Club's Assistant Governor for review before submitting the packet to the District Awards Chair, Rob Saxe. It is recommended that clubs work closely within their club and with their Assistant Governor to complete the Awards packet.
Certification and Consideration
The information provided in the completed Awards packet will be tabulated and scored for each participating club according to a point system. Each criterion item that is checked will receive the number of points allocated for that item. Following tabulation and scoring, the data will be made available to the District Awards Committee for consideration and final determination of awards.
The 2026-2027 District Awards Committee consists of the District Governor, the Assistant Governors, and the District Awards Chair.
Announcement of Awards
All District Awards will be announced and presented at the End-of-Year Picnic, May 23, 2027, at Rotary Grove Park, 9950 Elk Grove Florin Rd, Elk Grove, CA 95624.