I think the new system will be better. The old system did recognize some users who made positive contributions though, but I feel like it hasn't really done much otherwise.

Is 12 months also the amount of time that will pass before a previous winner becomes eligible to win again?

Because if no system like that is in place, it will be like the Greatest User Tournament, where only about 3 or 4 of the same users ever have a chance a winning

I thought it would, just checking

I don't really think Ambassador program is good, to be honest. Achieving a tag shouldn't reflect how good of users some people are. I get the good intentions of it, and what it tries to symbolize, but it just doesn't feel right.

Having a tag and using it as a means of proving a point (i.e: listen to me, I'm Ambassador) is also counter-productive to what the tag tries to achieve, too. It just gives a "position of power" without giving power in itself.

I can imagine a lot of people upping their post count in order to become member of the month. Whether that's good or not, I'm not sure. It would surely try to change some people's attitude at first, but if they don't win after a few months they'd probably revert to how they were before.