National Public Affairs Contest Guidelines

CONTEST GUIDELINES FOR 2022-2023

All submissions to any contest category below should have been produced, written or photographed between 1 May 2022 to 31 May 2023.

The 2023 PA Contest is now closed.
Congratulations and Bravo Zulu to this year's winners!

>> You can download a PDF version of these guidelines here. <<

AWARDS

Judging reports are due to both of our Deputy Directors Mary Patton and Sean Peoples, no later than 10th June 2023. Both Deputy Directors will review and consolidate in one report, the list of winners and send it to the A-Director by no later than 13 June 2023. The A-Director must submit award winners’ report to the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association no later than 30 June 2023. Each first-place winner will be announced and presented with a plaque at the 2023 Coast Guard Auxiliary National Conference Meeting (NACON).

CONTESTS

There are 4 (four) Public Affairs contest categories:

Publication
Public Affairs Event Contest
Photography
Video

PLEASE NOTE FOR ALL CONTESTS: The photo release for an adult only needs to be obtained when the photograph is taken under circumstances where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, rather than in a public venue. For example, if the image of an individual is captured at a boat show or public affairs booth outdoors, or at the show, or at a marina, there is not such a reasonable expectation of privacy. A PE class in a room or place that is not open to the public, but only to registered students is an example of a place where there would be a reasonable expectation of privacy. The same could be said of an event on a Coast Guard or Department of Defense installation.

Please read the instructions below for each category. You can enter more than one contest.

Publication (PB) Contest

This contest recognizes Coast Guard Auxiliary units district, division, and flotilla that have successfully published three or more issues of a unit publication during the past year. Flotilla newsletters eligible for judging must be published at least quarterly during the year. Division newsletters eligible for judging must be published at least quarterly during the year. District newsletters eligible for judging must be published at least quarterly during the year. Each entry must be identified with the name of the editor and the district/division/flotilla.

Consideration will be given to: announcements of coming flotilla, division, and district activities, recognition of flotilla member achievements or awards, member training items, and balance of content. Extra consideration will be given for publications that highlight themes of inclusion, recruitment, retention and augmentation. Entries will be judged using the standards contained in the current USCG Auxiliary Publication Manual.

Judging for this award shall be done by a committee consisting of at least 3 members recommended by DVC Publications and appointed by the Deputy Director-Publications and approved by the A-Director. Judging and selection of the best district, division and flotilla newsletter will be scheduled in accordance with the current deadline for submitting winning entries.

Submissions shall be received no later than 1 June 2023. No exceptions to this deadline will be permitted. Entries will be evaluated on several categories including design, layout, writing quality, photojournalism, and use of the Associated Press Style.

Any member of the Auxiliary at the flotilla, division, or district level may submit newsletters. Any member of the Auxiliary at the flotilla, division, or district level may submit newsletters. Submissions consisting of a copy of exactly three (3) separate issues of the unit publication must be electronically submitted to Andrew Niquette, Division Chief of Publications via Thank you for helping to tell the Auxiliary story. (google.com) or andrew.r.niquette@cgauxnet.us. Each entry shall be identified with the name of the editor of the publication and the unit number.

Public Affairs Contest (PA)

Entrants will e-mail a synopsis of their project, activity, etc. to the PA Contest coordinator (listed below). These will be presented for the best district, division and flotilla projects.

There are four judging criteria:

Use of imagination and creativity.
Promotion of CGAUX programs and (public) image.
Clarity of writing and ease of replication.
Attracting the attention of the media and the boating public.

The contest is designed to identify the flotilla, division, and district with the most creative, imaginative, and effective public affairs event from 01 May 2022 to 31 May 2023. The event should promote a positive public image of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, generate public awareness in an area of recreational boating safety, and foster community relationships.

Entry submissions should include a brief description of the following actions:

Planning – identify your target audience, message, and media.
Execution – putting the plan into action.
Analysis – determine the impact the event had on advancing the Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Affairs program.
Follow-up – adjusting the program for improvements and ease of replicating the event by other members of the Auxiliary.

Entries must be e-mailed to Bob Schabert, Division Chief of Public Relations at the following email: john.c.saran@cgauxnet.us no later than 1 June 2023. Judging for this award shall be done by a committee consisting of at two (2) or three (3) additional members appointed by the Deputy Director- Publications and approved by the A-Director. Judging and selection of the best district, division and flotilla newsletter will be scheduled in accordance with the current deadline for submitting winning entries.

Photo Contest

Entries must be in digital .jpg format. Cropping is permitted. No color changes are allowed. Refer to CG Auxiliary Public Affairs Manual for photo and video information. Photos may be color or black and white. Each Coast Guard Auxiliary member may submit up to two photographs per category.

Eight categories are judged: Public Affairs, Marine Safety, Member Services, Operations, Public Education, Vessel Safety Checks, and Team Coast Guard Events.

The following outlines each category: Make sure that Auxiliarists are in proper uniform for the event. No mixing of various uniforms.

Public Affairs: Auxiliarists spreading the Auxiliary message to external and internal audiences.

Fellowship: Auxiliarists having fun in a social setting. Beware of alcohol, cigars or cigarettes in photos.

Marine Safety: Auxiliarists engaged in proctoring marine license exams, assisting in inspecting containers, vessels, etc. Auxiliarists engaged in beach cleanup and other environmental activities.

Member Services: Auxiliarists recruiting and/or providing information or services for members (fingerprinting, ID photo taking, etc.)

Operations: Auxiliarists operating boats, aircraft, radios, etc.

Public Education: Auxiliarists providing instruction to the public.

Vessel Safety Checks: Members performing VEs.

Team Coast Guard Events: Auxiliarists assisting or interacting with active CG or Reservists in any approved mission except law enforcement.

The photography contest will be judged on the following criteria: captions must conform to Associated Press Style (Dateline/caption) criteria. Consult Coast Guard External Affairs Manual and study photos with correct datelines. Photos of anyone under the age of 18 (if recognizable) must be accompanied by a signed parental release Form ANSC 7020.

The judging criteria will be based on:

Use of IMAGINATION and CREATIVITY.
Promotion of CGAUX programs and (public) image.
Clarity of writing and ease of replication.
Attracting the attention of the media and the boating public.
Style with which the photographer has met the requirements of the category.

Digital Photos must:

Be a minimum of 5 megapixels.
Note the category to which the entry is being submitted.
Include a concise descriptive caption contained in the email and/or in the Metadata.

Entries should be e-mailed to all four (3) of our Photo Contest Coordinator and Judging Team:

BC-Robin Priestley at robin@robinpriestley.com,
BA-Jimmin Chang at jimmin.chang@gmail.com,
BA-Jihwan Baek at jihwan.m.baek@cgauxnet.us

Submissions shall be received no later than 1 June 2023. No exceptions to this deadline will be permitted. The winning entries will be announced at NACON 2023.

Video Contest

Videography: Entrants must submit via YouTube (conforming to YouTube's technical requirements). Create a YouTube account and upload the video (set as private). The Video Contest Judging Committee is composed of BC-Carlos Arenas and BA-Mark Galan.

Email the video URL to all two (2) of our Video Judging Committee: webcapino@gmail.com and mgalan@careyweb.com.

Include a video slate and provide the best scene (selection of a few related shots from one event or story). Maximum length per submission is 4 minutes. Video should visually convey an intended story or event that promotes some aspect of the Auxiliary’s four cornerstones. Please include a short synopsis of the story. Videos can be with or without sound.

Any CGAUX cornerstone activity may be covered. Entries must be submitted by 1 June 2023. Winners of the Publications and Photography Contests will be located on the homepage of the Public Affairs Directorate (www.auxpa.org).

Scoring advantage will be given to original camera and audio recorded material as well as graphic content over stock footage and pre-made graphic/motion templates or Artificial Intelligence generated content.