Nominations sought for 2005 Unsung Heroes Awards, to be presented at Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Jan. 23, 2005

Nominations sought for 2005 Unsung Heroes Awards, to be presented at Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Jan. 23, 2005December 07, 2004Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

The Martin Luther King Jr. 2005 Celebration Committee and the Syracuse Region Martin Luther King Jr. Commission are seeking nominations for the 2005 Unsung Heroes Awards.

The awards will be presented at the MLK Celebration Dinner, which will be held on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005, in the Carrier Dome. The awards are given to people who exemplify the spirit, life and teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. but who are not widely recognized for their efforts. Awards will be presented to one youth and one adult from the greater Syracuse community, and one faculty or staff member and one student from the Syracuse University community.

“As the name implies, we look for people whose work, while fundamentally important, may go unnoticed outside of the individual’s family, co-workers or local community,” says James Heffernan, vice president of student affairs at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and chair of the awards committee.

A nomination form for the Unsung Heroes Awards may be found at http://hendricks.syr.edu/events/nomform05.doc. Completed nomination forms should be sent in care of Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University, Syracuse N.Y. 13244-1110. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 20.

The 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2005, followed by a 6:30 p.m. free program featuring a keynote address by Ruth Simmons, president of Brown University. Simmons is a long-time advocate for educational equity and “excellence and daringness of mind” in educators and their students. She has been honored by Time, Newsweek and Ms. Magazines, the United Negro College Fund and the Fulbright Commission as an exemplary and inspirational leader.

Tickets for the dinner are $20 for the general public, $13 for students without meal plans and a dinner charge for students with meal plans, and are available by calling (315) 443-5044.

The evening celebration will be preceded by a symposium with community members at 3 p.m. in SU’s Maxwell Auditorium. The symposium is a twin event to the Nov. 5 Inaugural Symposium that was held in honor of SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor. A special gallery of community members from Central New York was invited to view the Nov. 5 symposium. This gallery will be invited back to participate in the Jan. 23 event, speaking on the issues of racism and genocide in the city of Syracuse through their own experiences.

For more information, call Hendricks Chapel at (315) 443-2901.