National Awards

Award Application and Nomination Forms

National Awards Nomination Form

Decou Award Application

The Henry M. Leland Award is the Cadillac & LaSalle Club’s most prestigious award presented to an individual club member. The first seven awards, given by Cadillac Motor Car Company and no longer available, consisted of an eighty piece gold-plated pewter replica of a 1908 Cadillac. Commencing in 2002, the award, designed by CLC member Rich Esposito, consists of a cup reminiscent of the Dewar Trophy won by Cadillac for interchangeability of parts and a casting in relief of the 1908 model on a wood base. The award represents the sterling qualities of Henry M. Leland, Cadillac’s founder and first General Manager, and his quest for “setting the standard”. The Leland Award is presented to an outstanding Cadillac & LaSalle Club member who has performed acts of great merit. Nominees must have been involved in the preservation, maintenance and promotion of the Cadillac and LaSalle marques and performed outstanding service in furthering the aims of the Club. Past presidents are not eligible. Regions and individual Club members are encouraged to submit nominees for this award. Nominations will be carefully reviewed by a committee of CLC past presidents who present their unanimous choice to the CLC Board for final approval. Nominations for this award should be sent to Barry Wheeler.

The Ken Moss Lifetime Achievement Award, formerly the Lifetime Achievement Award, was renamed in January of 1998 to honor Ken Moss. From Sydney, New South Wales, Ken was known worldwide as theMr. Cadillac of Australia. Recognizing Ken’s tremendous impact on the hobby, he was presented the coveted Henry M. Leland Award in 1992. Ken died on December 16, 1997 after a gallant fight to survive cancer. The Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 1996 to honor any member of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club, who, over the passage of time, has served the club tirelessly and unselfishly. The criteria for the award remain unchanged. The honored member must have been involved in a variety of large-scale projects, served steadily in smaller ones or in any combination of both. Such on-going and dependable service greatly benefits the Cadillac & LaSalle Club and all its member and in many cases enhances the reputation of the CLC among other automobile clubs. This coveted award is presented as a token of the Club’s great appreciation and esteem.

The DeCou Long Distance Driving Award was established in 2010. It was created to encourage members to actually use their cars as they were built to be used, and drive them to Grand National Meets.

The award is named for Donald “Frank” DeCou, who exemplified the spirit of this award. Frank DeCou was a member from Naperville, Illinois, who drove his stock, senior class 1940 LaSalle to every Grand National event from 1997 through 2009. Unfortunately, Mr. DeCou was killed in a car accident shortly after his return home from the 2009 Las Vegas Grand National. 

The award is a backing plate for your CLC grille badge, which you of course already have.

The requirement to receive this award is to have driven your 25 year old or older, Cadillac or LaSalle to at least two Grand Nationals that were 1000 or more miles apart. The first eligible Grand National event was the Kansas City Grand National in 2010, they need not be consecutive. To determine which Grand Nationals were more than 1000 miles apart, please see the chart below. For each subsequent Grand National to which you drive that same car you become eligible to add an additional roman numerical annotation on that award. That is “II” for the second, “III” for the third, and so on.

The Distinguished Service Award was established to honor any member of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club who gives freely of his or her time and energy in such a way that the effort has provided results which serve to benefit all members of the CLC. The service could exemplify leadership, organizational skill or personal involvement in a project in the areas of technical service, research, information systems, etc. The award is bestowed as a token of the CLC’s appreciation for a job well done and is a more permanent expression of the words, “Thank you and keep up the good work.”

The Hendry Award was established by Maurice D. Hendry, author ofCadillac, the Complete Historyas well as numerous other literary contributions to the hobby. Residing in Auckland, New Zealand, Mr. Hendry personifies the literary ability and dedication needed to research, by a long distance, events and history. He then transforms that data into detailed books and articles that provide enjoyable reading and greatly enhances one’s knowledge of the marque. Mr. Hendry offers this trophy as an incentive to any CLC member who excels in journalistic contributions in furtherance of the purposes of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club. Criteria for the award include excellence in writing skills, style, originality, content, research, and illustrations.

The Mary Lou Evans Membership Award was established in 1997 to honor Cadillac & LaSalle Club Membership Secretary Mary Lou Evans. From 1969-1994, Mary Lou served as membership secretary, a period of twenty-five years. Mary Lou met an untimely death on November 24, 1996 when the car in which she was riding was hit head-on. This award is presented at the Grand National to the CLC member who, in the judgment of the Awards Committee, has put forth extraordinary effort to attract new members to the CLC. The new members may be individuals or a group (e.g. an independent Cadillac club becomes a CLC region through a single member’s initiative and intervention). The addition of new members to existing rolls greatly enhances the quality of the Club for all members, providing a greater opportunity to share all aspects of the hobby.

The Norm Uhlir Regional Activity Award was created in honor of Cadillac & LaSalle Club Past President Norman Uhlir to encourage greater activity by chartered regions of the CLC. It is awarded annually to the region demonstrating outstanding overall activity in the following areas:

1. special membership services,
2. regional meets,
3. membership stability (retain or add members),
4. quality reports and articles submitted by members of the region to The Self-Starter,
5. participation in Grand Nationals,
6. special activities such as regional club projects, especially if beneficial to all CLC members.

The award is presented at the Grand National the following year.

The CLC has members from over 30 foreign countries, and numerous International Affiliates. The International Activity Award recognizes International Affiliate members who have made nota­ble contributions to the international activities of the Club and its International Affiliates.

(Send nominations to Awards Committee Chair Joseph Kausse.)

The Award is presented at the Grand National.

This award has been created to recognize outstanding contributors to the CLC publication, The Self-Starter, during a particular year. The Editor of The Self-Starter will propose nominations subject to confirmation by the Awards Committee. The award will be presented at the Grand National. The V-16 Award goes to individuals who practice a high degree of research skills in writing an original, lengthy, and well- documented/researched piece of work that exemplifies the finestefforts in Cadillac/LaSalle scholarship. The piece may shed light on some neglected or hitherto, little known area or aspect of knowledge relating to Cadillac. The V-12 Award will go to individuals who have met high standards, yet less rigorous than those undertaking scholarly research. The articles might be described as focusing on the “fun” aspect of the hobby—easy restorations of newer cars, trips in which the writers drive their cars substantial distances, and the chronicling of regional events that focus on the cars (and hopefully bring in new members).

This award is available for presentation to an individual or organization that has promoted or generated conspicuous recognition for the Cadillac marque or important activities of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club. The award consists of a replica Cadillac Herald radiator ornament on a marble base representing the announcement of “Good News” to the world. Presented by the CLC president or his Designate with the approval of the Awards Committee. Primarily intended as an expression of appreciation to those who perform outside the usual club activity. Time and place of the presentation to be determined by the recipient’s acceptance availability.

This award is available for presentation to an individual or organization that has promoted or generated conspicuous recognition for the LaSalle automobile and the preservation of its legacy by the Cadillac & LaSalle Club. The award consists of a replica Cadillac Herald radiator ornament on a black marble base representing the announcement of the delivery of the marque and its noble heritage. Presented by the CLC president or his designate with the approval of the Awards Committee. Primarily intended as an expression of appreciation to those who perform outside the usual club activity. Time and place of the presentation to be determined by the recipient’s acceptance availability.

The Newsletter Excellence Award is presented each year to recognize the outstanding effort of the regional newsletter editors. The award is presented at the Awards Banquet of the Grand National. Newsletters are reviewed and evaluated on many factors: content, originality, style, interest, humor, timeliness, format, illustrations, membership participation, and general improvement. A regional newsletter editor often has the most time consuming job among the officers. Creativity and self-discipline are prerequisites for the position. A timely and informative newsletter is a major link in the success of a region. As isThe Self-Starterto the national club, so is the local newsletter to the region. The newsletter fosters information flow, open communication and last, but not least, participation and camaraderie among members. The award is presented at the Grand National for excellence during the previous calendar year. All newsletters should be sent to Jeffrey Shively and Greg Powers the Chair/Co-Chair for this awards subcommittee. As always, you should continue to send a copy of your newsletter to your Regional Vice President.  In addition, you should send a copy of your newsletter to Old Cars Weekly for consideration of their Golden Quill Award. Copies of your newsletters are also appreciated by our CLC President as well as Tim Coy and Jeff Shively of The Self-Starter staff. Past Recipients (for previous calendar year).

The CLC International Newsletter Excellence Award is presented each year to recognize the outstanding work of the newsletter editors in the CLC International Affiliates (including Australian Regions within CLC Australia). The award will be presented annually at either the Grand European or the Australian National (each held every other year); or at the New Zealand Annual Meeting, with the exception of a winner from a Canadian affiliate where the award is presented at the CLC Grand National in the United States. It is presented for excellence during the previous calendar year. An international team consisting of members from Europe, Australia and the CLC VP of International Affiliates evaluates the newsletters. Evaluation criteria includes: effective communication, content, originality, creativity, style/format/design, interest, humor, timeliness, distribution, illustrations/pictures, member participation, promotes the CLC logo, and general improvement over time. Canadian, Australian & New Zealand Affiliates send to both:

Ron Zahn – CLC VP International Affiliates intlvp@cadillaclasalleclub.org PO BOX 5421, Eugene OR 97405 and

Peter Ratcliff, Liaison, peteratcliff@netspace.net.au The Cadillac LaSalle Clubs of Australia, 46 Mc Indie Parade, Parkdale, Victoria 3195 Australia. 

Nordic Affiliates of Europe including Sweden, Norway (2), Finland, Iceland & Denmark send to:

Anders S Wald anders.s.wald@telia.com Hemmesdynge Byavag 85-31 Prastgarden 23199  Klagstorp Skane Sweden

All Other European Affiliates send to:

Sigrid Hofmann, hofmann_family@t-online.de Asstn Dir of Western European Affiliates, Mainzer Str 60B, 64521 Gross-Gerau, Germany

The Website Excellence Award is presented each year to recognize the outstanding efforts of a Regional or Chapter Webmaster. In view of the rapid migration toward the use of electronic media, many regions and chapters have set up web pages and message boards. As more of our members use the Internet as a communication and information tool, these Website’s have grown in popularity. Inspired by the CLC Website, many regions and chapters have expanded their local Website’s to include photos, stories, regional and chapter activities, and links to other areas of automotive interest. The Webmaster’s job has become one of creativity, skill, imagination, and self-discipline. It is a vital and powerful link, not only to members of the CLC, but also to anyone surfing the web in search of automotive information. Websites also act as powerful and indispensible servants in the attraction of new members, not only to our club, but also to the automotive hobby in general. The award is presented at the Grand National for excellence during the previous calendar year. Past Recipients of the Website Excellence Award (for previous calendar year).

This award is presented to a living individual or group of individuals who have significantly influenced Cadillac design, styling, beauty, elegance and/or trends in historic proportions. This award is not an annual award and is only presented when a recipient can be recognized for well-known accomplishments. CLC membership is not part of the criteria to present this award. Recommendations to the award can originate with the committee chair, the CLC board of directors or CLC officers. The award is the Cadillac Goddess ornament in a base reflected in an ornamental plate surrounded by gold leaf wreath. Time and place of the presentation to be determined by the recipient’s acceptance availability.

We have had a Distinguished Service Award for some time that recognizes members who have served the Club at the National level in several different capacities over the many years. We have discoverd that we also have members serving the Club at the National level in significant, but more focused areas, for long, but possibly short durations. For these situations, we have developed a Cadillac Service Award to address these circumstances.

The Ansel Sackett 1941 Cadillac Excellence Award was created in 1991, the 50th anniversary year of the 1941 Cadillac, by the late Ansel Sackett. Ansel began his career at Cadillac in 1941, the year considered as one of the most significant in Cadillac’s history. There are more 1941 Cadillacs in the Club than any other model year. One of three founding members of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club, Ansel was an active board member from 1958–1998, past National treasurer from 1958–1990 and managing editor of The Self-Starter from 1986–1995. Ansel owned a 1941 6019S Sedan. He died on April 7, 1998, of heart failure. (See The Self-Starter, June 1998, page 6, for a memorial tribute.) The original perpetual trophy was a detailed precision model of the original Cadillac one-cylinder engine. The trophy now resides in the CLC Museum & Research Center. A personalized plaque is also presented to each year’s winner. The current award is a large shield-shaped plaque that remains with the winner. The award is presented to a 1941 Cadillac with primary consideration given to authenticity and originality. Preference shall be given to a car that has not previously received this award. The recipient is selected by the National chief judge and/or designee(s).