Washington Multi-Family Housing Association Logo

2026 Emerald Awards Nominations
open 5/1 - 5/22

Submit your nominations for the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association's Emerald Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements in the state's multifamily housing industry.

Please review the information below. Adhere to all deadlines to ensure the proper submission of your Emerald Award nominations.
Who can nominate?

A regional or corporate supervisor must approve nominations. The nominations platform has a checkbox for this. You cannot self-nominate except in the Community Service category.

Who is eligible?

All multifamily employees are eligible.  

Submission Forms

Nominations are due by 11:59 pm on Friday, May 22, 2026. 

NO EXCEPTIONS 

Nominees must complete their questionnaires by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Failure to submit the questionnaire will result in the withdrawal of the nomination.

General Information

All pricing is listed in the categories document below.

Click for Western WA Categories

Nominations and award submissions are non-transferable. Participants, companies, and properties will be listed in the award program and subsequent media EXACTLY as they appear on the official Nominee Form. Please ensure that the spelling is accurate.

WMFHA reserves the right to combine categories at its discretion. Additionally, we may choose not to present an award in categories that receive fewer submissions.

NEW for 2026:

As part of this commitment, we have updated the Leasing Professional category to better align with how this role is evaluated across the industry today. Rather than emphasizing unit counts or secret phone-shopping metrics, we have shifted our focus to a more holistic and relevant approach.

Leasing professionals are now recognized based on the types of communities they serve, with evaluations centered on key performance indicators and tailored questionnaires that reflect their day-to-day responsibilities and impact. This ensures a more accurate, equitable, and meaningful assessment of their performance and contributions.

These enhancements show we're committed to recognizing excellence in a way that's current and credible, honoring the value our professionals bring to their communities.

Questionnaires
2026 Nominator and Nominee Questionnaires
Nominator Questions
Nominee Questions

Judging

We are committed to ensuring that our awards program is conducted with the highest level of integrity, transparency, and fairness. Each category is thoughtfully designed and regularly evaluated to reflect both the evolving standards of our industry and the meaningful contributions of our professionals.

Impartial judges will evaluate written submissions. Judges will be selected from outside Washington State and will be in the property management industry. Click below to see how each category is scored.

Click for Western WA Scoring Matrix

Shops & Interviews

We'll have meet-and-greets or interviews on a secret and/or scheduled basis from mid-June through mid-July. WMFHA hires a professional shop company. Please refer to the scoring matrix above for the type of shop or interview that will occur by category.

Finalists

The scores of the nominator and nominee questions, combined with the meet-and-greets or interviews, will determine the finalist in each category. WMFHA will notify the finalists by the end of July.

If you are a finalist, your second-round shop or interview will happen from mid-August through mid-September. Please make sure you are available. 

Important Dates
  • May 1: Nominations open
  • May 22: Nominations close
  • June 10: Nominee packets due
  • June 15-July 10: First round of shops/interviews
  • July 27-31: Finalist called
  • Aug 15 - Sept 11: Shops and interviews of finalists

  • November 13: Western WA Emerald Awards