Nominate A Community Member For City Of Highland Park Awards

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Nominations are open for several awards honoring outstanding achievements by members of the Highland Park community, including new awards for those who have stepped up to serve others during the coronavirus pandemic.

Anyone may nominate a local business, nonprofit or community member for this year's City of Highland Park Awards before March 31.

Winners in four categories will be selected by the City Council with input from advisory groups, while the winner of a fifth category will be determined by a joint committee composed of representatives of the city, park district and local public school districts.

The categories for the 2021 City of Highland Park Awards are the following:

Arts Award
Nominees for outstanding contributions to Highland Park's written, visual, performing or digital art will be reviewed by the Cultural Arts Advisory Group.

Environmental Award
The city's Sustainability Advisory Group will be responsible for recognizing individuals and businesses nominated for their substantial efforts toward improving the environment.

Humanitarian Award
This award goes to a single outstanding member of the Highland Park community who has provided significant and sustained service to the city. Nominees will be reviewed by the city's Human Relations Advisory Group, with selection based on both personal and community service.

The Character Counts Pillar Awards
The Character Counts Steering Committee — a joint effort by the city, the Park District of Highland Park, North Shore School District 112 and Highland Park High School — will be responsible for reviewing nominations in the character counts category. The awards recognize community members who have demonstrated trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

Community Hero Awards: Serving Others During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Nominees for the community hero awards, new in 2021, will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the Human Relations Advisory Group. The new award is aimed at honoring one or more individual or organization for their work going above and beyond to support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The award has six categories: community, student, educator, health care, first responder and businesses or organizations.

An online awards ceremony is scheduled for April 22. Video will be livestreamed on the city's web and social media pages.

More information on how to nominate someone and a list of previous winners is available online.