Let me know if this sounds familiar: You are at a social event and someone new asks you "so what do you do for a living?" You might start your answer saying, "I manage my organization's awards programs, ..." but before you can finish the inevitable blank stare surfaces on the asker's face. You continue, ..". you know how Leonardo DiCaprio had to kill a bear to finally win that Oscar? Well my organization has something like that, except we don't recognize actors, we recognize everyday people that do extraordinary things in our industry." Awards are in plain sight, yet there is no official awards society bringing the community together to share best practices, ideas and war stories We at OpenWater have developed software to manage the lifecycle of an awards program. We literally run thousands of awards programs around the world and have produced Awards 101: The Missing Manual for Awards Professionals to share the lessons learned and best practices. If you find yourself newly entering the world of awards, this book is for you, and we recommend you read it cover to cover. For those who are more seasoned and have been running their programs for years, feel free to jump around to the most relevant chapters. In addition to this book free videos and companion worksheets are available at http: //www.getopenwater.com/awards-online-course