Iowa Character Awards seek nominees for annual recognition

DES MOINES — Nominations are now being taken for this year’s Iowa Character Awards. They honor individuals, businesses, organizations and schools for their roles in making Iowa a better place to live.

Amy Smit is spokeswoman for the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University in Des Moines, which organizes of the annual awards.  “We think there are Iowans throughout the state who deserve to be recognized for their good character,” Smit says. “It might be a friend or a family member or a co-worker but I think everybody knows someone who can be nominated.”

Smit says it’s easy to nominate someone for the recognition.  “Head to our website at iowacharacterawards.org and there’s an online nomination form where we just want to get to know your nominee a little better,” Smit says. “We try to keep it quick and easy for the nominator and we’ll have a volunteer selection committee review those this summer.”

The award program was founded in 2005 and has since honored more than a-hundred individuals for showing good character. There are various categories in which to nominate.  Smit says, “If you know an organization that you think really embodies the six pillars of character, you can nominate an organization, a sports team, individuals.”

The six pillars of character are: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship. The entry deadline is May 1st.