- Tom Stevenson of Houston, Texas
- Gary Kuhn of Fort Worth, Texas
- Jeff Kletsky of San Francisco, California
- Cay Cannon of Laguna Beach, California
- Mary Ann Bridges of San Marcos, California
- Carlito Rofoli of Tustin, California
- Truman McCullough of Irving, Texas
- Lynn Vogen of Huntington Beach, California
- Loren Greenburg from from Minneapolis, MN
- Hal and Margie Takier from Los Angeles, CA
- Leon Raper, formerly of Los Angeles, CA, now of Phoenix, AZ
For any endeavor to grow and progress, change is inevitable. In the mid-’80’s, a new concept in scoring and tallying was introduced, starting in the Texas area. Today, of course, the relative placement scoring system is the standard in the Swing dance world. In 2001 we recognized two gentlemen from Texas who developed the relative placement system; having had the foresight and understanding to see its application to Swing dance competitions. Our first recipient is a long time member of the Texas Swing community. He is the man responsible for the original concept, and the initial development of the relative placement scoring system.