Membership
Allan Howard Award for Excellence
The Allan Howard Award for Excellence
The deadline for 2024 nominations is April 1, 2024. Awardees will be notified by May 15, 2024, or taken by surpise at the award ceremony. The award(s) will be presented at date and location to be determined.
Overview
The Allan Howard Award for Excellence has been established to recognize individuals who have taken exemplary action to further IPMBA’s mission. It is presented to IPMBA members who have been nominated by a colleague and selected by the awards committee. Honorees must be current IPMBA members and must be nominated by someone who is familiar with their contributions to public safety cycling. Self-nominations will not be accepted. Nominations may be for work within their own communities, on a regional level, nationally, and/or within IPMBA.
Allan Howard is a retired sergeant with the Dayton (Ohio) Police Department. Allan started his distinguished career in law enforcement in 1982 and retired in 2008. During his career, he held various assignments, including foot patrol, motorcycle patrol, Dayton Police Academy instructor, SWAT team member, patrol operations supervisor, Internal Affairs Bureau investigations supervisor, fleet manager, and founding member of the bicycle patrol and the Dayton Bike School. Prior to becoming a police officer, Allan served in the United States Marine Corps from 1977-1981 as a machine gunner.
From 1984 to 1997, Allan raced as a United States Cycling Federation (USCF) and a National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) racer. He competed for DCC/Huffy, DCC/Huffy/Raleigh, Huffy/Hain Natural Foods and Chevrolet/LASD.
Allan is one of the founding members of IPMBA and was its first chair, serving from 1990 until 1997. He was a co-creator of the IPMBA Police Cyclist Course and a co-author of the Complete Guide to Police Cycling, the first manual for public safety cycling. Allen has authored numerous articles about bike patrol and training for IPMBA News and other publications. He is a highly respected instructor who has trained more than 3,000 bike officers and still makes guest appearances to assist with classroom and on-bike sessions.
Nominations
IPMBA is seeking nominations for public safety cyclists who have gone above and beyond in their support of public safety cycling.
To be eligible, a nominee must be a volunteer, part-time or career law enforcement, security officer, firefighter or emergency medical services provider who is or has been actively involved with department-based bicycle operations. Retired individuals are eligible. Nominees must be current IPMBA members.
Please describe, in detail, initiatives and/or actions undertaken, developed, and/or performed by the nominee that demonstrate their outstanding dedication to public safety cycling during the past calendar year or over the course of their affiliation with IPMBA. Efforts may include, but are not limited to, creating or expanding bike operations within their agency and/or others, developing community outreach programs, working with local, state or national elected officials in support of bicycle-related legislative actions, participating with and providing support for IPMBA’s projects, programs, and initiatives, etc.
Nomination Process
Download the Allan Howard Award for Excellence Nomination Form or email the Awards Committee to request one.
Submit the application, along with a nomination letter of no more than one page and up to five supporting documents (articles, letters of commendation related to the nomination, letters of recommendation, etc.), as well as a photo (if possible) to the Awards Committee no later than 90 days prior to the first day of the IPMBA Conference. For guidance on how to write a compelling nomination, please consult "How to Write a Compelling Nomination".
The Awards Committee will review all applications and, at their discretion, select up to two awardees. Award recipients will be notified after the selections have been made, at least 45 days prior to the first day of the IPMBA Conference.
The Allan Howard Award for Excellence will typically be presented during the IPMBA Conference. Awardees are encouraged to attend the IPMBA Conference to receive the award. Travel costs are the responsibility of the award recipients.
Past Award Recipients
2021: Artie Gonzales, PCI #141
2022: Ranceford Okada, PCI #246T/Michael A. Wear, PCI #516T-B/EMSCI #059T-B