Distinguished Service Awards nominees sought in Staples

STAPLES - The Staples Community Foundation seeks to honor those who have contributed to the community with the opening of nominations for its Distinguished Service Awards.

The community awards celebration will be Oct. 12 at T Maxwell's Restaurant. Nominations will be accepted today through June 1 in five categories:

Citizen of the Year.

Group, Organization or Business of the Year.

Youth of the Year.

The Duane R. Lund Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Open Category.

The Open Category can be suggested by the person submitting the nomination. Possibilities include Volunteer of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, educator, police officer, firefighter, medical person, farmer, child-care provider, etc., anything that does not fit into the other four categories.

The inspiration for this event was born in the celebration held two years ago to honor Duane R. Lund for his lifetime achievement of contributions to the Staples area.

"There are so many fantastic people and organizations in our midst, and it's way past time that we honor them for their contributions," said Sally Gorton, chair of the Staples Community Foundation Community Involvement and Leadership Committee.

Nomination letters should include the following:

Contact information (name, address, phone number and e-mail address) of the individual or organization making the nomination.

Contact information of the individual, group, business or organization being nominated.

A response to the following question: How has the individual or group contributed to the well-being of the Staples Community?

Nomination letters should be sent to the Staples Community Foundation; P.O. Box 101; Staples, MN 56479. Questions may be directed to Stan Carlson at (218) 894-1899. Additional information and nomination forms can be found on the Staples Community Foundation Web site at http://www.staplesfound.org.