NRHH OTM GUIDE 2012

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

THE OTM WEBSITEwww.otms.nrhh.org

OTM CATEGORIES

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: RAs, RLCs, GHDs, an Advisor, a Residential Community, an Organization, bulletin board or an Executive Board Member.

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.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS!!!

Writing successful OTMs that can win on campus as well as win regionally and nationally.

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!!!

OTM TIMELINE OTMs are due the 3rd of every month @ 11:59 PM Members vote on OTMs from the 4th-7th 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

OTM EXAMPLESGeneral CategorySpotlight: “Ms. Janice Monroe” – Regionally Winninghttp://otms.nrhh.org/otm_general.php3?otmid=166622&uid=30369&vid=krn68pf3eehamy0mFirst Year Student: “Chloe Hale” – Nationally Winninghttp://otms.nrhh.org/otm_general.php3?otmid=166820&uid=30369&vid=sc3ck9h86hv5h2e7

Program CategoryPassive Program: “IRHA Alumni Newsletter” – Regionally Winning http://otms.nrhh.org/otm_program.php3?otmid=166852&uid=30369&vid=mqxan32mt4wup74vEducational Program: “NRHH Study Café” – Nationally Winninghttp://otms.nrhh.org/otm_program.php3?otmid=162837&uid=30369&vid=zvjbv4jnzejtc064

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

Valerie Gilbert NRHH President brooke20@vt.edu