diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index 4b7d802642..1bac3dc949 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -26,4 +26,7 @@ jobs:
       run: make release
 
     - name: Create eks-charts PR
-      run: make ekscharts-sync-release  
+      run: make ekscharts-sync-release
+
+    - name: Create sample manifests PR
+      run: make config-folder-sync   
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6a76972be1..54b1b4eea0 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -308,6 +308,9 @@ generate-cni-yaml:
 
 release: generate-cni-yaml upload-resources-to-github
 
+config-folder-sync:
+	${MAKEFILE_PATH}/scripts/sync-to-config-folder.sh
+
 setup-ec2-sdk-override:
 	@if [ "$(EC2_SDK_OVERRIDE)" = "y" ] ; then \
 	    ./scripts/ec2_model_override/setup.sh ; \
diff --git a/pkg/ipamd/ipamd.go b/pkg/ipamd/ipamd.go
index 2717cb93aa..6a3b031035 100644
--- a/pkg/ipamd/ipamd.go
+++ b/pkg/ipamd/ipamd.go
@@ -1920,6 +1920,9 @@ func (c *IPAMContext) AnnotatePod(podName, podNamespace, key, val string) error
 		}
 
 		newPod := pod.DeepCopy()
+		if newPod.Annotations == nil {
+			newPod.Annotations = make(map[string]string)
+		}
 		newPod.Annotations[key] = val
 		if err = c.rawK8SClient.Patch(ctx, newPod, client.MergeFrom(pod)); err != nil {
 			log.Errorf("Failed to annotate %s the pod with %s, error %v", key, val, err)
diff --git a/scripts/sync-to-config-folder.sh b/scripts/sync-to-config-folder.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..06368c0568
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/sync-to-config-folder.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+set +x
+
+
+SCRIPTPATH="$( cd "$(dirname "$0")" ; pwd -P )"
+BUILD_DIR="${SCRIPTPATH}/../build"
+
+VERSION=$(make -s -f $SCRIPTPATH/../Makefile version)
+
+REPO="aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s"
+PR_ID=$(uuidgen | cut -d '-' -f1)
+
+SYNC_DIR="${BUILD_DIR}/config-sync"
+
+BINARY_BASE=""
+INCLUDE_NOTES=0
+MANUAL_VERIFY=1
+
+GH_CLI_VERSION="0.10.1"
+GH_CLI_CONFIG_PATH="${HOME}/.config/gh/config.yml"
+KERNEL=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
+OS="${KERNEL}"
+if [[ "${KERNEL}" == "darwin" ]]; then 
+  OS="macOS"
+fi
+
+VERSION=$(make -s -f "${SCRIPTPATH}/../Makefile" version)
+
+USAGE=$(cat << EOM
+  Usage: sync-to-config-folder  -r <repo>
+  Updates config folder in master and release branch
+  Example: sync-to-config-folder -r "${REPO}"
+          Optional:
+            -r          Github repo to sync to in the form of "org/name"  (i.e. -r "${REPO}")
+            -n          Include application release notes in the sync PR
+            -y          Without asking for manual confirmation before creating PR to upstream
+EOM
+)
+
+# Process our input arguments
+while getopts r:n:y opt; do
+  case "${opt}" in
+    r ) # Github repo
+        REPO="$OPTARG"
+      ;;
+    n ) # Include release notes
+        INCLUDE_NOTES=1
+      ;;
+    y ) # Manual verify
+        MANUAL_VERIFY=0
+      ;;
+    \? )
+        echo "$USAGE" 1>&2
+        exit
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [[ -z "${REPO}" ]]; then 
+  echo "Repo (-r) must be specified if no \"make repo-full-name\" target exists"
+fi
+
+echo $REPO
+
+if [[ -z $(command -v gh) ]] || [[ ! $(gh --version) =~ $GH_CLI_VERSION ]]; then
+  mkdir -p "${BUILD_DIR}"/gh
+  curl -Lo "${BUILD_DIR}"/gh/gh.tar.gz "https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/download/v${GH_CLI_VERSION}/gh_${GH_CLI_VERSION}_${OS}_amd64.tar.gz"
+  tar -C "${BUILD_DIR}"/gh -xvf "${BUILD_DIR}/gh/gh.tar.gz"
+  export PATH="${BUILD_DIR}/gh/gh_${GH_CLI_VERSION}_${OS}_amd64/bin:$PATH"
+  if [[ ! $(gh --version) =~ $GH_CLI_VERSION ]]; then
+    echo "❌ Failed install of github cli"
+    exit 4
+  fi
+fi
+
+function restore_gh_config() {
+  mv -f "${GH_CLI_CONFIG_PATH}.bkup" "${GH_CLI_CONFIG_PATH}" || :
+}
+
+if [[ -n $(env | grep GITHUB_TOKEN) ]] && [[ -n "${GITHUB_TOKEN}" ]]; then
+  trap restore_gh_config EXIT INT TERM ERR
+  mkdir -p "${HOME}/.config/gh"
+  cp -f "${GH_CLI_CONFIG_PATH}" "${GH_CLI_CONFIG_PATH}.bkup" || :
+  cat << EOF > "${GH_CLI_CONFIG_PATH}"
+hosts:
+    github.com:
+        oauth_token: ${GITHUB_TOKEN}
+        user: ${GITHUB_USERNAME}
+EOF
+fi
+
+function fail() {
+  echo "❌ Config folders sync failed"
+  exit 5
+}
+
+RELEASE_BRANCH=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
+    https://api.github.com/repos/aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s/releases | \
+    jq -r --arg VERSION "$VERSION" '.[] | select(.tag_name==$VERSION) | .target_commitish')
+
+make -s -f $SCRIPTPATH/../Makefile generate-cni-yaml
+
+rm -rf "${SYNC_DIR}"
+mkdir -p "${SYNC_DIR}"
+cd "${SYNC_DIR}"
+
+gh repo clone aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s
+DEFAULT_BRANCH=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD | tr -d '\n')
+
+CONFIG_DIR=amazon-vpc-cni-k8s/config/master
+cd $CONFIG_DIR
+REPO_NAME=$(echo ${REPO} | cut -d'/' -f2)
+git remote set-url origin https://"${GITHUB_USERNAME}":"${GITHUB_TOKEN}"@github.com/"${GITHUB_USERNAME}"/"${REPO_NAME}".git
+
+git config user.name "eks-networking-bot"
+git config user.email "eks-networking-bot@users.noreply.github.com"
+
+FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH="${BINARY_BASE}-${VERSION}-${PR_ID}"
+git checkout -b "${FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH}" origin/master
+
+cp $SCRIPTPATH/../build/cni-rel-yamls/${VERSION}/aws-k8s-cni*.yaml .
+cp $SCRIPTPATH/../build/cni-rel-yamls/${VERSION}/cni-metrics-helper*.yaml .
+
+git add --all
+git commit -m "${BINARY_BASE}: ${VERSION}"
+
+PR_BODY=$(cat << EOM
+## ${BINARY_BASE} ${VERSION} Automated manifest folder Sync! 🤖🤖
+
+### Description 📝
+
+Updating all the generated release artifacts in master/config for master branch.
+
+EOM
+)
+
+git push -u origin "${FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH}"
+gh pr create --title "🥳 ${BINARY_BASE} ${VERSION} Automated manifest sync! 🥑" \
+    --body "${PR_BODY}" --repo ${REPO}
+
+echo "✅ Manifest folder PR created for master"
+
+CLONE_DIR="${BUILD_DIR}/config-sync-release"
+SYNC_DIR="$CLONE_DIR"
+echo $SYNC_DIR
+rm -rf "${SYNC_DIR}"
+mkdir -p "${SYNC_DIR}"
+cd "${SYNC_DIR}"
+gh repo clone aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s
+echo "Release branch $RELEASE_BRANCH"
+CONFIG_DIR=amazon-vpc-cni-k8s/config/master
+cd $CONFIG_DIR
+REPO_NAME=$(echo ${REPO} | cut -d'/' -f2)
+git remote set-url origin https://"${GITHUB_USERNAME}":"${GITHUB_TOKEN}"@github.com/"${GITHUB_USERNAME}"/"${REPO_NAME}".git
+
+git config user.name "eks-networking-bot"
+git config user.email "eks-networking-bot@users.noreply.github.com"
+
+FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH="${BINARY_BASE}-${VERSION}-${PR_ID}"
+git checkout -b "${FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH}" origin/$RELEASE_BRANCH
+
+cp $SCRIPTPATH/../build/cni-rel-yamls/${VERSION}/aws-k8s-cni*.yaml .
+cp $SCRIPTPATH/../build/cni-rel-yamls/${VERSION}/cni-metrics-helper*.yaml .
+
+git add --all
+git commit -m "${BINARY_BASE}: ${VERSION}"
+
+PR_BODY=$(cat << EOM
+## ${BINARY_BASE} ${VERSION} Automated manifest folder Sync! 🤖🤖
+
+### Description 📝
+
+Updating all the generated release artifacts in master/config for $RELEASE_BRANCH branch.
+
+EOM
+)
+
+git push -u origin "${FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH}":$RELEASE_BRANCH
+gh pr create --title "🥳 ${BINARY_BASE} ${VERSION} Automated manifest sync! 🥑" \
+    --body "${PR_BODY}" --repo ${REPO} --base ${RELEASE_BRANCH}
+
+echo "✅ Manifest folder PR created for $RELEASE_BRANCH"
diff --git a/scripts/upload-resources-to-github.sh b/scripts/upload-resources-to-github.sh
index 7e32849a30..76fffc605e 100755
--- a/scripts/upload-resources-to-github.sh
+++ b/scripts/upload-resources-to-github.sh
@@ -19,17 +19,6 @@ CALICO_CRS_RESOURCES_YAML=$BUILD_DIR/calico-crs.yaml
 REGIONS_FILE=$SCRIPTPATH/../charts/regions.json
 
 BINARIES_ONLY="false"
-PR_ID=$(uuidgen | cut -d '-' -f1)
-BINARY_BASE="aws-vpc-cni-k8s"
-
-REPO="aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s"
-GH_CLI_VERSION="0.10.1"
-GH_CLI_CONFIG_PATH="${HOME}/.config/gh/config.yml"
-KERNEL=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
-OS="${KERNEL}"
-if [[ "${KERNEL}" == "darwin" ]]; then 
-  OS="macOS"
-fi
 
 USAGE=$(cat << 'EOM'
   Usage: upload-resources-to-github  [-b]
@@ -58,10 +47,6 @@ RELEASE_ID=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
     https://api.github.com/repos/aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s/releases | \
     jq --arg VERSION "$VERSION" '.[] | select(.tag_name==$VERSION) | .id')
 
-RELEASE_BRANCH=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
-    https://api.github.com/repos/aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s/releases | \
-    jq -r --arg VERSION "$VERSION" '.[] | select(.tag_name==$VERSION) | .target_commitish')
-
 ASSET_IDS_UPLOADED=()
 
 trap 'handle_errors_and_cleanup $?' EXIT
@@ -143,111 +128,3 @@ while read i; do
 done < <(jq -c '.[]' $REGIONS_FILE)
 
 echo "✅ Attach artifacts to release page done"
-
-echo $REPO
-
-if [[ -z $(command -v gh) ]] || [[ ! $(gh --version) =~ $GH_CLI_VERSION ]]; then
-  mkdir -p "${BUILD_DIR}"/gh
-  curl -Lo "${BUILD_DIR}"/gh/gh.tar.gz "https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/download/v${GH_CLI_VERSION}/gh_${GH_CLI_VERSION}_${OS}_amd64.tar.gz"
-  tar -C "${BUILD_DIR}"/gh -xvf "${BUILD_DIR}/gh/gh.tar.gz"
-  export PATH="${BUILD_DIR}/gh/gh_${GH_CLI_VERSION}_${OS}_amd64/bin:$PATH"
-  if [[ ! $(gh --version) =~ $GH_CLI_VERSION ]]; then
-    echo "❌ Failed install of github cli"
-    exit 4
-  fi
-fi
-
-function fail() {
-  echo "❌ Create PR failed"
-  exit 5
-}
-
-CLONE_DIR="${BUILD_DIR}/config-sync"
-SYNC_DIR="$CLONE_DIR"
-echo $SYNC_DIR
-rm -rf "${SYNC_DIR}"
-mkdir -p "${SYNC_DIR}"
-cd "${SYNC_DIR}"
-gh repo clone aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s
-DEFAULT_BRANCH=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD | tr -d '\n')
-CONFIG_DIR=amazon-vpc-cni-k8s/config/master
-cd $CONFIG_DIR
-REPO_NAME=$(echo ${REPO} | cut -d'/' -f2)
-git remote set-url origin https://"${GITHUB_USERNAME}":"${GITHUB_TOKEN}"@github.com/"${GITHUB_USERNAME}"/"${REPO_NAME}".git
-
-git config user.name "eks-bot"
-git config user.email "eks-bot@users.noreply.github.com"
-
-FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH="${BINARY_BASE}-${VERSION}-${PR_ID}"
-git checkout -b "${FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH}" origin
-
-COUNT=1
-for asset in ${RESOURCES_TO_COPY[@]}; do
-        name=$(echo $asset | tr '/' '\n' | tail -1)
-        echo -e "\n  $((COUNT++)). $name"
-        cp "$asset" .
-done
-
-git add --all
-git commit -m "${BINARY_BASE}: ${VERSION}"
-
-PR_BODY=$(cat << EOM
-## ${BINARY_BASE} ${VERSION} Automated manifest folder Sync! 🤖🤖
-
-### Description 📝
-
-Updating all the generated release artifacts in master/config for master branch.
-
-EOM
-)
-
-git push -u origin "${FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH}"
-gh pr create --title "🥳 ${BINARY_BASE} ${VERSION} Automated manifest sync! 🥑" \
-    --body "${PR_BODY}" --repo ${REPO}
-
-echo "✅ Manifest folder PR created for master"
-
-CLONE_DIR="${BUILD_DIR}/config-sync-release"
-SYNC_DIR="$CLONE_DIR"
-echo $SYNC_DIR
-rm -rf "${SYNC_DIR}"
-mkdir -p "${SYNC_DIR}"
-cd "${SYNC_DIR}"
-gh repo clone aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s
-echo "Release branch $RELEASE_BRANCH"
-CONFIG_DIR=amazon-vpc-cni-k8s/config/master
-cd $CONFIG_DIR
-REPO_NAME=$(echo ${REPO} | cut -d'/' -f2)
-git remote set-url origin https://"${GITHUB_USERNAME}":"${GITHUB_TOKEN}"@github.com/"${GITHUB_USERNAME}"/"${REPO_NAME}".git
-
-git config user.name "eks-bot"
-git config user.email "eks-bot@users.noreply.github.com"
-
-FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH="${BINARY_BASE}-${VERSION}-${PR_ID}"
-git checkout -b "${FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH}" origin/$RELEASE_BRANCH
-
-COUNT=1
-for asset in ${RESOURCES_TO_COPY[@]}; do
-        name=$(echo $asset | tr '/' '\n' | tail -1)
-        echo -e "\n  $((COUNT++)). $name"
-        cp "$asset" .
-done
-
-git add --all
-git commit -m "${BINARY_BASE}: ${VERSION}"
-
-PR_BODY=$(cat << EOM
-## ${BINARY_BASE} ${VERSION} Automated manifest folder Sync! 🤖🤖
-
-### Description 📝
-
-Updating all the generated release artifacts in master/config for $RELEASE_BRANCH branch.
-
-EOM
-)
-
-git push -u origin "${FORK_RELEASE_BRANCH}":$RELEASE_BRANCH
-gh pr create --title "🥳 ${BINARY_BASE} ${VERSION} Automated manifest sync! 🥑" \
-    --body "${PR_BODY}" --repo ${REPO} --base ${RELEASE_BRANCH}
-
-echo "✅ Manifest folder PR created for $RELEASE_BRANCH"
\ No newline at end of file