NRHH OTM Guide 2012

1. NRHH OTM Guide 2012 Janine Monfries NRHH Vice President of Recognition 2012-2013

2. What is an OTM? • An OTM is an “Of The Month” award • OTMs are used to acknowledge the hard work and dedication to the Housing community that individuals, groups, and programs have accomplished during the month you are writing • You can win on the Campus, Regional, and National level • Our NRHH chapter is the current holder of the 2011-2012 SAACURH OTM Cup!

3. The OTM Website www.otms.nrhh.org

4. OTM Categories

5. General Category • The general category is for people, a place or a group of people that are being recognized for their outstanding achievements in residence life • You could write about: DAs, RAs/RCAs/PMs, GHDs, RLCs/RDs, Senior/Night Desk Clerks, an Advisor, a Residential Community, an Organization, or an Executive Board Member

7. Program Category • The program category is to recognize the extraordinary programs that take place on your campus • You could write about: a community service program, a diversity program, an educational program, a passive program (i.e. hall decorations, bulletin boards, etc.) and social programs.

9. Tips for Success!!! Writing successful OTMs that can win on campus as well as win regionally and nationally.

10. OTM tips • Use spell check! (Best to write in a Word document and then copy+paste into the OTM). Think about readability and clarity. • Don’t simply RETELL the program or event but DESCRIBE the program or event. • It is easier to write AFTER a program, rather than writing about it days or weeks later. It becomes harder to remember the smaller details. • Maximize the word count! Put your OTM in paragraph form • Write about the CURRENT month, not about what happened LAST month or what is going to happen NEXT month. • Don’t forget to write the 3-4 sentence summary about the OTM at the end of the page (it gives the regional and national readers a glimpse into your OTM) • Remember to have fun!!! 

11. OTM Timeline • OTMs are due the 2nd of every month @ 11:59 PM • Voting goes live for NRHH members the 4th of every month and continues until the 8th • Campus winning OTMS are due to the Region the 10th of every month • Regionally winning OTMs announced on/around the 17th of every month • Nationally winning OTMs announced on/around 25th of every month

12. (August 2012 - April 2013) UF OTM CUP This is a competition between the residence halls, rewarding a residence hall area that works hard at writing OTMs: Earn 1 point for working with me to write your OTM (up to 3 points for your area for the semester) Earn 1 point for writing in the secret category of the month (will be one word or phrase in quotations in the e-mail that I send out) Earn 1 point for writing about another area Earn 1 point for winning on the campus level, 3 points for the regional winners, and 5 points for the national winners. Earn 2 points for writing in the “community service program”, “passive programs”, and “educational program” categories Earn 1 point for writing for the first time

13. OTM Examples General Category Spotlight: “Ms. Janice Monroe” – Regionally Winning http://otms.nrhh.org/otm_general.php3?otmid=166622&uid=30369&vid=krn68pf3eehamy0m First Year Student: “Chloe Hale” – Nationally Winning http://otms.nrhh.org/otm_general.php3?otmid=166820&uid=30369&vid=sc3ck9h86hv5h2e7 Program Category Passive Program: “IRHA Alumni Newsletter” – Regionally Winning http://otms.nrhh.org/otm_program.php3?otmid=166852&uid=30369&vid=mqxan32mt4wup74v Educational Program: “NRHH Study Café” – Nationally Winning http://otms.nrhh.org/otm_program.php3?otmid=162837&uid=30369&vid=zvjbv4jnzejtc064

14. Questions? Comments? Office Hours, NRHH Office Mondays 3:00-5:00 PM Janine Monfries Jmonfries.uf09@ufl.edu OTM@housing.ufl.edu