Citizens can nominate volunteers for the Tacoma City Council’s 2005 City of Destiny Awards through Feb. 4. These yearly honors promote the importance of community service and recognize individuals and groups who make outstanding contributions to Tacoma.

“Once again, the City of Tacoma has a wonderful opportunity to publicly thank some of the people who help make Tacoma a great place to live,” said Mayor Bill Baarsma. “Our volunteers are an important part of that group.”

You can nominate adults in the following categories:

Leadership — Honors the volunteer who provides leadership that inspires others to help meet a need in the community.

Sustained Service — Honors the volunteer who provides dedicated service over an extended period of time to benefit the community.

Neighborhood Group or Community Partnership — Honors the group of volunteers that demonstrates teamwork in a project that benefits the community.

Corporation, Business or Entrepreneur — Honors the corporation, business or entrepreneur instrumental in developing or supporting community or environmental programs.

Employee or Union Group — Honors employees of businesses, unions, or governmental entities instrumental in developing or supporting community programs. Criteria for category include programs initiated by employees, voluntary participation and involvement of employees in community activities.

You can nominate youth (up to age 21) in the following categories:

Leadership — Honors the young volunteer who provides leadership that inspires others to help meet a need in the community.

Service — Honors the young volunteer who has provided a quiet, yet consistent, vital service to others that often goes unnoticed.

Youth/Young Adult Group — Honors the group of young volunteers that has demonstrated extraordinary initiative and originality in creating, designing, organizing or reinvigorating a program or project to respond to community needs and create positive social change.

The City Council will present the City of Destiny Awards to the winners and recognize nominees at a special ceremony May 24 in the Jason Lee Middle School Auditorium. TV Tacoma, the City’s municipal television station, will tape the program and replay it the following week on Channel 12 on both the Click! Network and Comcast cable systems.

The nomination period closes Feb 4. The Citizens Recognition Committee, made up of volunteers representing neighborhoods, labor, education, social service and business—and appointed by the City Council—will review the nominations and select the winners.

To obtain a nomination form, call the City’s Communications Division office at (253) 591-5285, or stop by the office, 747 Market St., Room 208, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You can download a copy of the nomination form from the City of Tacoma’s Web site at http://www.cityoftacoma.org/21about/City%20of%20Destiny/.

You can also pick up nomination forms in the City Clerk’s Office, Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market St., Room 220, and from Tacoma Public Library branches.