I definitely support it. It should work the normal way, by people nominating those that they feel are worthy of recognition.
And a cautious yes to banning moderators from the contest. So far we only have one.
But you're right, Rick can already consider himself the member of every month. So far.
One of the forums I used to visit used to have a "member of the month contest". Back in the good old days when people still might have gotten the joke, the title would often be ironic and awarded to someone for their unintentional comedic contributions.