Gold Circle Nomination Process
Award nominations must be submitted online to BOMA/Chicago by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 28.
Before completing, please review the Gold Circle guidelines to understand nomination requirements. We recommend using the nomination form provided in MS Word format first and copying and pasting the answers into the online form.
Click here to download the 2023 Gold Circle Award Overview.
Nomination Forms
The links are listed below for individual online nomination forms. Note all responses must be completed before submitting before the form may be submitted (there is no "save" option):
The Award Selection Committee
The award selection committee, referred to as the “Gold Circle Panel,” is comprised of one representative each from fifteen to twenty management companies that have the most BOMA/Chicago members, and includes one BOMA/Chicago Board member. The panel will evaluate each nomination submission to determine the top finalists in each category, interview finalists and select award winners for each category.
Predetermined Award Criteria
All nominees and finalists are judged based on predetermined, weighted criteria as indicated on the nomination form and detailed in the Gold Circle Awards FAQs.
Finalist Selection
The Gold Circle Panel will review nominations and judge each category based on the predetermined criteria. Panelists for each category will be selected to avoid conflicts of interest because of company or building affiliations. The scores will be tallied by BOMA/Chicago staff and the top three finalists in each category will be determined.
Interviews and Selection
BOMA/Chicago will notify all finalists and arrange an in-person interview with at least three members of the Gold Circle Panel. Panelists for each category will be selected to avoid conflicts of interest because of company or building affiliations. After all interviews have been completed, the scores will be tallied by BOMA/Chicago staff and the winners in each category will be determined.
2022 Award Nomination Timeline
Nominations due October 22
Gold Circle Award online nomination period
October 25 - November 5
Written nomination submission forms reviewed by judges and three finalists selected within each award category
November 8 - December 3
All nominees will be informed of panel outcomes and interviews will be coordinated with all award finalists
December 6 - December 17
In-person interviews will be conducted and Gold Circle winners decided
February/March 2022
Awards are presented at TOBY Gold Circle Awards Gala
Award Guidelines
To participate in the BOMA/Chicago Gold Circle Awards, nominees must meet the following criteria:
- Individual applicants must be nominated. Self-nominating entries will not be accepted.
- All nominees must be employed in a BOMA/Chicago member building or affiliate company.
- All candidates must have at least five years of experience in commercial real estate, with the exception of the Emerging Leader Professional of the Year which requires five years or less of experience.
- Nominees for the Emerging Leader of the Year are limited to building members with five or less years of experience in the commercial real estate industry.
- Nominees must complete and submit all nomination materials as indicated on the nomination forms.
- One nomination per category will be allowed from each Commercial Real Estate Company for Property Management, Building Engineer, Security Professional and Emerging Leader.
- For the Janitorial Professional of the Year award, each Commercial Real Estate Company may submit one nomination for each of their contractual janitorial companies.
- BOMA/Chicago Building and Affiliate Members may each submit one nomination for the Affiliate of the Year Award.
- Nominee finalists will be required to participate in an in-person interview with select members of the Gold Circle Panel (Note: please allow 30-45 minutes to complete the interview).
- Nominees are not eligible to serve on the Gold Circle Panel.
- Winners will not be eligible to resubmit for a minimum of two years following their recognition; for example, a 2020 winner could reapply for the 2023 awards.  Winners are announced at the TOBY/Gold Circle Awards Gala usually held in January of each year.
Click here to see a list of previous Gold Circle Award winners.
Additional Information
For additional information, head over to our new Gold Circle Awards FAQ page or contact Amy Masters, Director of Marketing and Communications at amasters@bomachicago.org or (312) 870-9612.