Who will be the 2018 Central Floridian of the Year? We’re listening
In Central Florida, we know there's more to feeling rich than hitting the Mega Millions or Powerball lottery jackpot. Our riches lie in the people who work to keep our region thriving … who stand up for those who cannot … who run toward the fight and not away from it … who see a need and strive to fill it.
You'll find them in every sector of the community – and even next door in your neighborhood. And you might just find them featured in the Orlando Sentinel. Every year since 1983, the Sentinel's Editorial Board has recognized an individual or group for outstanding service, initially considering candidates statewide and then narrowing to our region.
We call this honoree the Central Floridian of the Year, and we invite you to help us choose our 2018 recipient.
In 2017, we named Dave Green Central Floridian of the Year. The CEO of Feeding Children Everywhere, Green led an effort to provide more than 1.6 million meals to Floridians in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma and oversaw more than 54,000 volunteers who packed 4.4 million meals for Puerto Rico in just 19 days in Hurricane Maria's aftermath.
In 2016, the year that Orlando became known as the site of the worst mass killing in modern history, the Emergency Medicine and Trauma Teams at Orlando Regional Medical Center saved lives after the Pulse nightclub shooting. They were the 2016 Central Floridians of the Year.
Other honorees through the years have included the late Harriett Lake, who gave millions of dollars over decades to the arts (2014); Michael Dippy, who founded iDignity to help homeless people establish identity papers to restart their lives (2010); the Apopka Little League team, for winning the national championship and uniting the region (2001); all the way to Marjory Stoneman Douglas, our first designee in 1983, for her efforts to save the Everglades.
If you know someone who deserves to be recognized, tell us who it is and what they've done for our region. Our choice will be guided by how strong a case can be made for candidates, not by the number of nominations they receive, so be thorough in your submission.
We'll select five finalists and then choose one from among them to be the 2018 Central Floridian of the Year. Here's how to submit your nomination:
Visit our website, https:// bit.ly/2O7C22T; send email to insight@orlandosentinel.com (put CFOTY in the subject line); or mail nominations to Editorial Board CFOTY, Orlando Sentinel, 633 N. Orange Ave., MP-218, Orlando, FL 3281. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 15.
You can see our gallery of winners on our website at https:// bit.ly/2Q3HQfO.