The Award of Honor was established by the Florida State College for Women Alumnae Association for conferring upon graduates of the College who attained prominence in their post-graduate careers. The idea of the award was first proposed at the Alumnae Institute in November 1935 and was adopted at the meeting of the Executive Council of the Alumnae Association immediately following the Institute. FSCW President Conradi's charge was to appoint a committee to develop the plan for the award. The members of the committee were Miss Nina McAdam, chairman; Mrs. Clara Johnson Wallis; Mrs. Felicia Williams Traxler; Miss Maud McCall; Mrs. Dorothy Johnson Nilson; Miss Julia Smith; and Miss Lucy Pope. According to the 1937 program, the Award of Honor was conferred upon graduates "for attainment in the field of science, of liberal arts, of professional accomplishment, of civic and social service, and of distinguished service to the College." The first awards were conferred at a special ceremony on Alumnae Day, May 23, 1936, at the Augusta Conradi Theater.
Recommendations for the award were made annually by any alumna or by the members of the College Executive Council to the Award of Honor's Alumnae Committee. The Committee reviewed the complete histories and records of the post-graduate careers of all nominees for the award. Successful candidates received the unanimous vote of the Committee, and the decision of the Committee was final. However, a nomination could be re-submitted with additional data for consideration of an award.
To make the award truly significant, the committee selected sculptors of national reputation to create and model the design and eminently skilled craftsmen in metal work to reproduce the bronze medallions. The obverse of the medallion shows the portals and towers of the College administration building (Westcott), and the reverse side shows the three torches ("Vires, Arts, Mores"), the engraved inscription of the award, and the begonia, a symbolic wreath of tropical plant life representing "beneficent productiveness." The 1936 program notes that the "gradually perfecting blossoms coming from the long stalk indicate grace and represent the Beatitudes."
Recipients in 1936 were Kathryn Reece Haun, Shirley Virginia Long, Rowena Longmire, Caroline La Fontisse McCollum, Clara McDonald Olson, Mary Bailey Sloan, and Irita Bradford Van Doren. In 1937, the award was conferred upon Eugenia Tatum Davis, Inga Olla Helseth, and Carol Perrenot Longone.
From the guide to the Florida State College for Women Alumnae Association Award of Honor Programs, 1936-1937, (Repository Unknown)
