The town is revamping the application process for the annual Citizen of the Year award.
The biggest change to the program is nominations are now being accepted starting Jan. 1 instead of in autumn.
“If you think of someone you feel is deserving of this award, you no longer have to wait until September to submit a nomination, you can do so right away while it’s still fresh in your mind,” said Coun. Mike Behan, Citizen of the Year Committee member.
Nomination packages are also being streamlined to remove redundancies and will now include tips on how to submit effective nominations.
“The committee certainly doesn’t want to make the process so onerous that it deters people from submitting a nomination, but it’s important to stress the quality of nominations is key to helping the committee make its decision,” Coun. Behan noted.
“It’s not enough to simply say ‘so and so has been volunteering for the past 20 years.’ You have to be much more specific regarding why your nominee deserves to be citizen of the year,” he added.
Coun. Behan stressed that those who submit applications cannot assume committee members will already know of the nominee and their accomplishments. In fact it’s just the opposite.
“You have to presume we know nothing about the person, so you need to give a full outline of their volunteer activities that help to make Fort Frances a great place to live, work, play, and learn,” he remarked.
Applications to the 33rd Annual Citizen of the Year Award close at 4 p.m. on Oct. 22.
