The NSAI Member Awards celebrate songwriters that are advancing their craft and making great use of our services. We gather annually to honor our members who have stood out in the past year!
The NSAI Member Awards are made possible with support from our presenting partner:
Awarded April 2024
Awarded April 2024
FULL LIST OF 2021 AWARD WINNERS
GRADUATE AWARDS
Aubrey Toone (Kaysville, UT)
Martin McDaniel (Antioch, TN)
Lily Rose (Nashville, TN)
Sarah Haze (Nashville, TN)
NEW MEMBER OF THE YEAR | Beldon Burch (Carpenteria, CA)
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR | Tidewater, VA
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR | Michelle Pereira (Nashville, TN)
FRIEND OF NSAI | Preshias Harris (Nashville, TN)
ONES TO WATCH AWARD | John Frank (Nashville, TN)
ONLINE PITCH AWARD | Kate Zickler (Franklin, TN) - "Pouring Him Out"
SONG EVALUATION AWARD | Hayden Cain (Richmond, KY) - "FOMO"
MENTOR AWARD | Jahnavi Goldstein (Nashville, TN)
ONLINE SONG FEEDBACK AWARD | Caroline Dare (Nashville, TN) - "Heart Problem"
TODD GIVENS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT | Ben Wagner (Hermitage, TN)
NSAI SONG CONTEST WINNERS
Tarrah Walston (Nashville, TN) - Song Category
James Maltese (Princeton, NJ) - Lyric Category
CHAPTER CHALLENGE WINNERS
Emily Bea (Nashville, TN)
David Unlayao (Portland, OR)
Kathy Kay Wallace (St. Louis, MO)
FULL LIST OF 2020 AWARD WINNERS
GRADUATE AWARDS
Emily Kroll (Nashville, TN)
Kyle James (Nashville, TN)
Sarah Jones (Nashville, TN)
Kelly McKay (Nashville, TN)
Megan Barker (Hendersonville, TN)
NEW MEMBER OF THE YEAR | Brett Trout (Lebanon, TN)
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR | Oklahoma City, OK
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR | Herb Chafin (Nashville, TN)
FRIEND OF NSAI | 'Smokin On The Row' - Ralston Wells and Jason Goolesby (Nashville, TN)
ONES TO WATCH AWARD | Ben Johnson (Circle Pines, MN)
ONLINE PITCH AWARD | Sarah Jones - "Wyoming" - (Nashville, TN)
SONG EVALUATION AWARD | Nell Maynard - "Love Is Lightning" - (Nashville, TN)
MENTOR AWARD | Greg Wilson - (Gallatin, TN)
ONLINE SONG FEEDBACK AWARD | Daniel Collins - "Postcard Memories" - (Gulfport, FL)
TODD GIVENS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT | Jesse Labelle (Nashville, TN)
NSAI SONG CONTEST WINNERS
Matthew Soileau (Spring, TX) - Song Category
Claire Bunnik (Pefferlaw, ON) - Lyric Category
CHAPTER CHALLENGE WINNERS
Sal Cosentino (Brooklyn, NY)
Linda Sclafani (Dublin, OH)
FULL LIST OF 2019 AWARD WINNERS
GRADUATE AWARDS
Forrest Finn (Nashville, TN)
Will Bundy (Antioch, TN)
Lauren Weintraub (Sudbury, MA)
Johnny Simmen (Nashville, TN)
NEW MEMBER OF THE YEAR | Michael Saleta (Nashville, TN)
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR | Chicago, IL
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR | Rachel Seiler (Nashville, TN)
ONES TO WATCH AWARD | Steven Smentek (Woodridge, IL)
ONLINE PITCH AWARD | Greg Wilson - "When I'm A Memory" - (Gallatin, TN)
SONG EVALUATION AWARD | Bobby Evans - "Been" - (Silex, MO)
MENTOR AWARD | Kelly McKay - (Nashville, TN)
TODD GIVENS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS | Lauren McLamb (Nashville, TN) & Chris Housman (Nashville, TN)
NSAI SONG CONTEST WINNERS
Robert Ragosta (Nashville, TN) - Song Category
Mark Giufre (Burnt Hills, New York) - Lyric Category
CHAPTER CHALLENGE WINNERS
Nitanee Paris (Malibu, CA)
Ryan Brisotti (Nashville, TN)
FULL LIST OF 2021 AWARD WINNERS
GRADUATE AWARDS
Aubrey Toone (Kaysville, UT)
Martin McDaniel (Antioch, TN)
Lily Rose (Nashville, TN)
Sarah Haze (Nashville, TN)
NEW MEMBER OF THE YEAR | Beldon Burch (Carpenteria, CA)
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR | Tidewater, VA
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR | Michelle Pereira (Nashville, TN)
FRIEND OF NSAI | Preshias Harris (Nashville, TN)
ONES TO WATCH AWARD | John Frank (Nashville, TN)
ONLINE PITCH AWARD | Kate Zickler (Franklin, TN) - "Pouring Him Out"
SONG EVALUATION AWARD | Hayden Cain (Richmond, KY) - "FOMO"
MENTOR AWARD | Jahnavi Goldstein (Nashville, TN)
ONLINE SONG FEEDBACK AWARD | Caroline Dare (Nashville, TN) - "Heart Problem"
TODD GIVENS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT | Ben Wagner (Hermitage, TN)
NSAI SONG CONTEST WINNERS
Tarrah Walston (Nashville, TN) - Song Category
James Maltese (Princeton, NJ) - Lyric Category
CHAPTER CHALLENGE WINNERS
Emily Bea (Nashville, TN)
David Unlayao (Portland, OR)
Kathy Kay Wallace (St. Louis, MO)
FULL LIST OF 2020 AWARD WINNERS
GRADUATE AWARDS
Emily Kroll (Nashville, TN)
Kyle James (Nashville, TN)
Sarah Jones (Nashville, TN)
Kelly McKay (Nashville, TN)
Megan Barker (Hendersonville, TN)
NEW MEMBER OF THE YEAR | Brett Trout (Lebanon, TN)
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR | Oklahoma City, OK
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR | Herb Chafin (Nashville, TN)
FRIEND OF NSAI | 'Smokin On The Row' - Ralston Wells and Jason Goolesby (Nashville, TN)
ONES TO WATCH AWARD | Ben Johnson (Circle Pines, MN)
ONLINE PITCH AWARD | Sarah Jones - "Wyoming" - (Nashville, TN)
SONG EVALUATION AWARD | Nell Maynard - "Love Is Lightning" - (Nashville, TN)
MENTOR AWARD | Greg Wilson - (Gallatin, TN)
ONLINE SONG FEEDBACK AWARD | Daniel Collins - "Postcard Memories" - (Gulfport, FL)
TODD GIVENS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT | Jesse Labelle (Nashville, TN)
NSAI SONG CONTEST WINNERS
Matthew Soileau (Spring, TX) - Song Category
Claire Bunnik (Pefferlaw, ON) - Lyric Category
CHAPTER CHALLENGE WINNERS
Sal Cosentino (Brooklyn, NY)
Linda Sclafani (Dublin, OH)
FULL LIST OF 2019 AWARD WINNERS
GRADUATE AWARDS
Forrest Finn (Nashville, TN)
Will Bundy (Antioch, TN)
Lauren Weintraub (Sudbury, MA)
Johnny Simmen (Nashville, TN)
NEW MEMBER OF THE YEAR | Michael Saleta (Nashville, TN)
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR | Chicago, IL
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR | Rachel Seiler (Nashville, TN)
ONES TO WATCH AWARD | Steven Smentek (Woodridge, IL)
ONLINE PITCH AWARD | Greg Wilson - "When I'm A Memory" - (Gallatin, TN)
SONG EVALUATION AWARD | Bobby Evans - "Been" - (Silex, MO)
MENTOR AWARD | Kelly McKay - (Nashville, TN)
TODD GIVENS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS | Lauren McLamb (Nashville, TN) & Chris Housman (Nashville, TN)
NSAI SONG CONTEST WINNERS
Robert Ragosta (Nashville, TN) - Song Category
Mark Giufre (Burnt Hills, New York) - Lyric Category
CHAPTER CHALLENGE WINNERS
Nitanee Paris (Malibu, CA)
Ryan Brisotti (Nashville, TN)
AWARD DESCRIPTIONS
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Milestone Award
The person receiving this award will have achieved notable career success as determined by NSAI staff.
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Volunteer Of The Year
The person receiving this award is a member who supports the membership team.
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Friend of NSAI
The person receiving this award is a nonmember who supports the membership team.
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Member Awards Song Of The Year
The nominees for Song Of The Year are chosen from the top songs submitted in that year’s Chapter Challenge and then voted on by five members of the prestigious NSAI Board of Directors.
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Bob Kingsley Top 40 Award
The person receiving this award will have had the most songs on the NSAI Top 40 in Honor of Bob Kingsley in the calendar year. If there is a tie, one song from each member will be sent to the Kingsley family to be voted on.
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Ones To Watch Award
The person receiving this award will have received the “Ones to Watch” or former “Recommended for Publisher Luncheon” accolade the most times in the calendar year. In the event of a tie, the current evaluators will listen to a song from each nominee and choose the winner.
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Online Pitch Award
The person receiving this award will have had the most songs taken in the calendar year during the online pitches. In the event of a tie, one song from each nominee is sent to everyone (EXCLUDING the nominees) who participated in that year’s pitch to vote on the winning song.
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Chapter Impact Award
This award is given to the Chapter Coordinators of the chapter that had the most impact in their community during the calendar year.
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Mentor Award
NSAI mentors send in nominees based on song quality, advancement in career goals, and other outstanding qualities. Mentors then listen to one song from each nominee and choose the winner.
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Todd Givens Scholarship
The NSAI Executive Director chooses a very promising and talented aspiring songwriter/artist. This person is someone that Bart thinks Todd would have loved.
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NSAI Song Contest
The annual NSAI Song Contest winner is chosen after multiple rounds of judging among thousands of entries.
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NSAI Chapter Challenge
The winners of the NSAI Chapter Challenge are determined by votes on songs submitted by attendees of their local chapter. The winning song from each local chapter is then selected by an NSAI panel, resulting in the Chapter Challenge Top 20 and overall winners.
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