Formerly known as the “MWR Rookie of the Year Award”, the Irving Rubenstein Memorial Award recognizes one MWR/Services professional from each of the five branches of the Armed Forces who has been in an MWR/Services management position for less than two years.The Irving Rubenstein Memorial Award was established to memorialize the outstanding example set by its namesake, Irv Rubenstein, CMCE, who passed away in 1996. Irv Rubenstein was the epitome of teaching, coaching, and mentoring young MWR professionals.

Irving Rubenstein Memorial Award provides an incentive for young managers to aspire to great achievement in military MWR/Services early in their careers. Winners of the Irving Rubenstein Memorial Award display exceptional management skill and leadership, achieve particularly outstanding performance results in their respective programs, and possess great potential for continued success in military MWR/Services.