No more that five Jefferson awards are presented annually. The certificate is signed by the Secretary of Commerce and the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere. To be eligible for this award, the candidate must have received the John Campanius Holm award at least five years prior to nomination, and must still be performing duties in an outstanding manner.

The John Campanius Holm award was created to honor Cooperative Observers for outstanding accomplishments in the field of meteorological observations. It is named for a Lutheran minister, the first person known to have taken systematic weather observations in the American Colonies. Reverend Holm made weather observations, without the aid of instruments, in 1644 and 1645 near the present site of Wilmington, Delaware. His son later had these observation published.

From hundreds of nominations each year, no more than twenty-five of these awards are presented annually to the volunteer observers. The certificate is signed by the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and presented by local National Weather Service representatives..

Two of the more prestigious awards are the Thomas Jefferson and John Campanius Holm awards. Both were created for the National Weather Service in 1959 to honor Cooperative Weather observers. These two awards are reserved for the very best observers. Whereas may awards are given on the basis of longevity, these two are given based on merit.

The more prestigous individual Length of Service Awards, those of 50 years or more, have be “named” to honor a historical figure involved with weather observing.