Before transfusion medicine professionals could network over the internet, they were limited to traditional strategies such as face-to-face and telephone conversations, FAX communications, (snail) mail, newsletters, journal publications, etc. The timing of these networking events was often site specific, delayed or inconvenient. Today, a wide array of internet-based resources permit transfusion medicine professionals to network over large distances with convenient timing.

This award, renamed in 2005, honors leaders from the blood banking and transfusion medicine community, including Bernice Hemphill, W. Quinn Jordan, and Joel Solomon. The award recognizes an individual who made significant contributions in the areas of administration, quality programs, laws and/or government affairs. The individual shall have demonstrated leadership qualities and a consistent willingness to lend his/her expertise to his/her peers. It may recognize one particular act or an accumulation of years of contributions.