CTAM Awards 

CTAM sponsors five major awards for its membership, listed below. Please click the links below for a description and online nomination form for each award.  Recipients of all awards are recognized at the annual CTAM conference. Prior recipients are not eligible for the same award. Click here for Past Award Winners.

Award Nominations are now open for 2026! The Award Nomination Deadline is July 10, 2026. 

Outstanding Individual in Communication and Theater Award

This award recognizes individuals who: 

1. Have made truly significant contributions to communication and/or theater education in the state of Minnesota.

1. Have made truly significant contributions to the communication arts and/or theater arts in the state of Minnesota. 

2. Have used the arts of communication and/or theater to make significant contributions to their professions and/or society. 

Outstanding New Secondary Teacher Award 

This award recognizes outstanding new secondary teachers in Minnesota in disciplines serving the interests of the organization. Nominees must be in their first five years of full-time teaching of speech communication and/or theater at the middle-school or secondary level. 

Outstanding New College Teacher Award 

This award recognizes outstanding new college/university teachers in Minnesota in disciplines that serve the interests of the organization. Nominees must be in their first five years of full-time teaching of speech communication and/or theater at the college/university level. 

Outstanding Adjunct Teacher Award

This award recognizes outstanding adjunct instructors in Minnesota in disciplines that serve the interests of the organization. An adjunct instructor is any faculty member who is not in a probationary or tenured position. 

CTAM Larry Schnoor Emeritus Award

The CTAM Larry Schnoor Emeritus Award was created in 2021 to honor the lifetime of service of Larry Schnoor.  Not only was he a leader in the development and growth of The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota, after retirement he continued to be actively and closely involved. In addition to serving as Treasurer of CTAM for years, he continued to mentor and advise those in the field.  Larry has been a true friend to all in CTAM. In the spirit of Larry's service in retirement, this award was created to recognize those who likewise continue to give of themselves even after ending their active teaching career.  

A nominee for the Larry Schnoor Emeritus Award should be a person in retirement who has continued to support the Speech and Theater Education community in Minnesota in some notable and substantive manner.  One or more recipients of the CTAM Larry Schnoor Emeritus Award may be  selected each year. There is no assumption, however, that this award will be given every year.