Each participating community is divided into Nominating Areas on a municipal map of that community. Both the participating community and the Statewide Properties of Merit ™ organization archive this map for reference purposes. Each Nominating Area in the community is assigned by the Nominating Chair to a Nominating Captain who, working individually or with a Nominating team, is responsible for determining the POM™ Finalists that year in that community. This activity takes place in late Spring to early Summer.

Nominating Captains and their teams are trained each year by the Statewide Properties of Merit ™ organization on how to use the POM™ Score Card to determine each year’s finalists. The Nominating Team members explain the POM™ Awards Program to potential finalists, ask if they will agree to participate in the program and sign a Release Form which confirms the correct appearance of their name and address for their certificate. They also must agree to display a Properties of Merit sign in their front yard for that POM™ season.

Finalists can view their information on this web site and the local Calendar for a community provides specific information regarding the award winners and the date of the Awards event. POM™ Communities can also encourage property owners and the general public to forward the addresses of properties they feel should be evaluated by the Nominating Teams in their areas. If a community is sufficiently small, they may choose to not divide into Nominating Areas.

All of each year’s POM™ Finalists and their guests are invited to the local Annual POM™ Awards Reception where they receive a framed POM™ Finalist certificate, commendations from their area legislators and other gifts as determined by the local participating POM™ Awards Reception Team.

Properties of Merit™ Property Evaluations: The POM™ Report Card Program evaluates properties on an objective and consistent basis through use of the POM™ Report Card. This form rates a property on a range of twenty (20) different variables from the condition of its paint and masonry to extras like flowers and decorative flags. Click to see the current Master POM™ Report Card used by participating communities. For more information on the POM™ awards program, please click here.

In order reinforce the importance of high standards in property maintenance among as many citizens as possible, finalists are encouraged to participate in the POM™ People’s Choice Program during the summer. All finalists are listed by Nomination Area on a ballot that is given to all finalists, available with ballot boxes in locations community-wide and appear in local print media such as area newspapers. In the future, citizens may vote for People’s Choice Finalists on this website also. The Balloting Chair and their team count the ballots after the specified deadline to determine which of the POM™ finalists received the highest number of votes in each Nominating Area. Those receiving the highest number of votes become the POM™ People’s Choice Finalists for that Nomination Area.

The POM™ People’s Choice Finalists receive a framed certificate in addition to the commendations from their area legislators and other gifts as determined by the local participating POM™ Awards Reception Team.

Grand Prize, Founder’s Choice and other Special Awards – The local community’s POM™ Leadership Team choose from among that year’s finalists the property that best reflects the reasons their community launched their POM™ Program to be the Grand Prize Winner for that year. With a view to engaging as much of the leadership in that community as possible the local community’s POM™ Leadership Team also selects one or more properties from the community who were not chosen as finalists but are still highly worthy of recognition as Founder’s Choice and other Special Awards (Mayor’s Award, City Council Award etc).

The local community’s POM™ program culminates in an annual Awards Reception held late Fall and organized by the POM™ Reception Chair and their team. Each year it is held in a location deemed to best reflect reasons their community launched their POM™ Program. For example, the Allentown POM™ Mission Statement reads “Well-tended neighborhoods are safer neighborhoods”. Their goal is to help positively impact crime reduction with their POM™ program. For this reason, Allentown holds its annual POM™ Awards Reception in either a house of worship, important anchors for the city’s neighborhoods, or in a building important to the overall well-being of the community. For Allentown’s tenth POM™ anniversary, they are holding their reception at the nationally unique Allentown Symphony Hall.

To ensure maximum attendance at the reception, the event is free and open to the public with tickets and invitations mailed to all finalists, past finalists, area dignitaries and elected officials and community members. Refreshments donated by area merchants and a key note speaker contribute to making this an event the entire community anticipates each year. All finalists, People’s Choice, Grand Prize, Founder’s Choice and other Special Award winners are given framed certificates at the reception and commendations from area legislators. Local POM™ Awards Programs may also choose to give gifts and flowers to finalists donated by area merchants. Finalists, volunteers, local donors, Statewide and Regional Sponsors are recognized in the POM™ Program Guide for that evening.

The goal is to make it an evening to remember for that year’s POM™ Finalists, POM™ Volunteers and everyone that attends this POM™ Awards Reception reinforcing the impact that the simple act of property maintenance can have on a whole community.