My first thought about your post is that I'm wondering who would be in charge of determining these "merit events"? Then, I'm wondering whose responsible for rating each pilots' meritorious performance. It would become, in short order, a bucket of muckets. I do however understand your concern that every pilot should strive to be the best that he/she can be. However, that really will never happen, given the fact that some really love the job, the flying, the lifestyle, and everything that goes along with it, while others of our profession are here to earn a living and get a lot of time off, nothing more. You see it on every flight, every day. You have those guys that always leave their cockpit a sh!thouse, and you have those guys that leave it spotless. You have guys who really take pride in their flying, while others could care less, as long as they get every other landing. You have guys who strive to continue to learn their jet, and you have guys who only pull out their manuals for checkrides and simulators. The list goes on and on. Whereas I strive to be as professional as I can be, with a haircut, shined shoes, a uniform that fits and is not 3 sizes too large or small , I also understand that some of us are less concerned with things such as appearance. Truth be told, I'd rather have a very competent guy at the controls, than a guy whose only just barely competent. However, both are recognized as having met the standards, and that should be just fine.

Perhaps the best gage of a pilots performance can be seen on his or her last day, when he goes in to say goodbye to the chief pilot, and the chief pilot says "who the hell are you."