Happy 4th everyone! Try to stay cool and safe while having fun. We have several fairly new CCs that may not be aware of how the COM (County of the Month <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/Winners/index.htm>) award works. So I thought maybe COM 101 would help them understand. TXGenWeb has a Surfing Committee <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/Committee/index.htm>. Texas is divided into 11 regions, and the surfers are each assigned a region to surf. A region consists of anywhere from 20 to 27 counties each. Each month a surfer will look at and "evaluate" each of the counties in their assigned region. The evaluation process consists of a form that each surfer uses as a guide <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/Criteria/surfingform.htm>. Each county is checked to be sure it meets all the National <http://usgenweb.org/volunteers/standard-rules.shtml> & State level <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/rules.htm> requirements. Once it is determined that it meets all of the requirements, it is surfed to see what else the county offers, if the links are current and working, has the site been updated recently, etc. (See form <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/Criteria/surfingform.htm> for actual items looked for) Once the evaluation process has been completed for each county in that region, the surfer will then add up the points assigned to each county and "nominate" the county for COM that has the highest points. Once each surfer has nominated one county from their assigned region, it goes to a finalization committee. The finalization committee then surfs each of the 11 counties nominated and the patron nomination and a COM is chosen. Some months we have a patron nomination that is included in the final evaluation. When patrons send in nominations, the patron nominations form a 12th region and the counties are surfed just as those in the other 11 regions are surfed. The highest scoring county becomes the Patron Nomination and is sent to the finalization committee. If you would like for your county to be eligible, be sure to check out the evaluation form and then check your county site as if you were the surfer. You might be surprised at the things you find. I work my counties pretty hard, and I still get notes from surfers on problems they found. It is so easy to not see a problem when you look at the page so often! I always appreciate the surfer giving me a heads up on any problems. I would rather hear about the problem from the surfer than a patron complaining about it. LOL If you have any questions on what you need to do to help your county be eligible for COM, contact your surfer and let them know you are willing to make any necessary changes/additions. Once your surfer knows you are willing to work on the county, they will be happy to help you. If you are awarded the COM, your county is then not eligible for another COM award for 6 months. If a county wins the COM a total of 3 times, they are then inducted into the Hall Of Fame <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/HOF/index.htm> and are no longer eligible to be a COM again. (Once a county changes to a new CC, the county is once again eligible for COM, and all old awards must be moved from the main index page to an inside page. The new CC must win the award to display it on the main page.) At the end of the year, we have a total of 12 COM counties. We have a committee that will evaluate the 12 COM counties and the Hall of Fame counties and choose one county from those that will receive the COY (County Of The Year <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/COY/index.htm>). Once a county has received COY it is no longer eligible for any other awards. Clear as mud now? Elaine