The topic at hand is about proposing an exciting new initiative called the "Ostomy Community Awards." This idea aims to create an annual event that celebrates and acknowledges the achievements and contributions within the ostomy community on a global scale. Here’s a breakdown of what this initiative hopes to achieve and some advice from the community:

- The awards would recognize various accomplishments such as best recovery stories, the cleanest or most challenging scars, significant medical milestones, efforts to raise awareness, outstanding blogs, and the most helpful community replies, among other achievements related to ostomy.

- It aims to shed light on how healthcare funds are being utilized and to highlight progress towards future goals, such as improved early-stage treatments, new drugs, and natural remedies that could potentially reduce the need for surgery.

- The initiative seeks to promote sponsorships and educational awareness on a worldwide level, helping to spread knowledge and support for ostomates everywhere.

- It encourages organizing regional or major-center gatherings, providing opportunities for ostomates to meet and connect beyond the usual monthly meetings.

- The idea is to start small, perhaps piloting the concept on this forum, and gradually build it into a collaborative team effort.

Community members have shown strong enthusiasm for this idea, with many expressing support for launching the awards program. They have suggested including fun categories like "Most Positive Ostomate" and "Most Knowledgeable Ostomate."

There are some considerations regarding the naming of the awards. For instance, the title "Brownbagger of the Year" might need a rebranding to appeal to a broader audience while still keeping the insider humor.

An existing model to consider is the "Great Comeback Awards" run by Convatec in the UK, which honors inspiring ostomates. Members recommend looking at this program’s structure, nomination process, and storytelling approach as a potential template. In this model, individuals can be nominated by friends or even nominate themselves.