Time is running out for Rock Island residents to nominate their neighbors for the City of Rock Island’s 36th Annual Citizen of the Year Awards.
The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, July 10, to submit a nomination for those who have made selfless contributions of service to the City of Rock Island for Citizen of the Year Awards in one of eight categories. They are: Individual; Youth; City Employee; Professional; Education; Veteran; Organization, Church or Non-Profit; and Business.
The winners will be recognized and presented with awards during the Aug. 28 Rock Island City Council meeting. They also will be honored in the 2023 Rock Island Labor Day Parade, on Monday, Sept. 4. One individual or group will be chosen from the Citizen of the Year winners and will serve as the Labor Day Parade grand marshal.
The award categories and criteria, according to the city news release include:
- Individual: It honors a resident of the City of Rock Island who exemplifies hard work and ethics while demonstrating outstanding service to the community through volunteer work, mentoring or social leadership. This person will have made a difference through their willingness to work well with others and ability to inspire positive change in Rock Island.
- Youth: Nominees must be students enrolled in the Rock Island-Milan School District, Jordan Catholic School, Alleman High School or homeschooled in grades 6 through 12 this fall. He or she will have maintained academic excellence while displaying character, initiative, leadership and creativity through community groups, projects or volunteer work. The selected youth also will have the respect and admiration of teachers or community leaders and stand out as an example to other youth. (To be eligible home-schooled students must reside in the city.)
- City Employee: Nominees must be city workers but do not have to reside in the city. They must be dependable, have a good work ethic and character and inspire other employees to do their best. He or she will have a positive can-do attitude, take pride in their job and have earned the respect of coworkers and supervisors. Their work as an employee will have made the city a better place to live, work and play.
- Professional: These individuals will have made positive change in the Rock Island community through their employment by displaying leadership, character and initiative. The nominees may have implemented social programs, raised money to help those in need, created or led a community event, or mentored youth, for example. They have earned the respect of their peers and the community. They must be employed in Rock Island, but do not have to live in the city.
- Education: Nominees are not required to be residents of Rock Island, but they must be employed by the Rock Island-Milan School District, Jordan Catholic School or Alleman High School. They may be a superintendent, principals, deans, teachers or para-professionals who are engaging and inspiring students to do their best in school and out in the community. Nominees should display leadership, character and empathy while acting as mentors. They may put in extra hours through coaching or leading after-school programs and activities, for example. They have the respect of students, staff and other educators.
- Veteran: Nominees will have served in any branch of the armed forces as active duty or members of the reserves and will have been honorably discharged or retired. They will have given back to the community through volunteer work, mentorship, or are active in Rock Island organizations. These individuals who must reside in the city and have helped make Rock Island a better place to live through their inspiring example of patriotism, courage, honor and character.
- Organization, Church or Nonprofit: The nominated organizations, churches or nonprofits, must be located in Rock Island and make a difference in the community through their service, mission-based programs, fundraising or events. They may help those in need, influence social change, raise awareness of an issue, raise money to assist the less fortunate or fund a particular cause, organize community events that make a difference; or other activities that make a positive impact on the overall community. They should be seen as change-makers who inspire others to join their cause.
- Business: The nominees must be located in Rock Island and serve the community in a capacity that goes beyond normal business operations. Examples include providing scholarship awards, fundraising, volunteering, and overall giving back to the community. The nominated businesses must have a good working environment and be operated in a way that displays character, ethics, good business practices and maintains a well-kept building and grounds in the city. Nominated business owners do not have to reside in Rock Island.
Nomination forms for Rock Island Citizen of the Year can be found here. Submit completed forms to Sarah Hayden, community engagement manager, at [email protected].
