Carol Stream lists Citizen of Year nominees

Fourteen people have been nominated for the Carol Stream Citizen of the Year awards — an annual recognition that honors exceptional volunteerism in the community.

The awards have been given out since 1965 to volunteers who donate “countless hours of service,” according to the Citizen of the Year committee, which collects the nominations from local service organizations. Past recipients of the award pick the winners from the list of nominations.

Those nominated to be Citizen of the Year are village residents who have volunteered in at least one group in the past year.

One man and one woman receive the award.

The lone male nominee is Rick Gieser, who was nominated for his work on the Carol Stream Fourth of July Committee.

The female nominees are: Michelle Blakeley of the Carol Stream Woman’s Club, Elise Ciribassi of the Rotary Club of Carol Stream, Beverly Macrito of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Laura Schmidt of the Carol Stream Historical Society and Tamara Trombetta of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce.

Those nominated to be Special Citizen of the Year are village residents who have volunteered for five straight years in the community.

The lone male nominee is Tony Pedraza of the Carol Stream Park District.

The female nominees are: Rita Heideman of the Heritage Lakes Elementary School PTA, Julie Panicali of the Benjamin School District 25 Foundation, Denise Simone of the Western Trails School PTO and Amy Spikings of the Jay Stream Middle School PTA.

In addition, the Judge’s Recognition category recognizes volunteers who live outside Carol Stream.

All who are nominated in the category receive the award. They are: Jonathan Fischer of the Rotary Club, Allison Moe of the Jay Stream PTA; and Dan Whitford of the Citizen of the Year Committee.

The awards will be given out at a banquet on Feb. 4 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 150 S. Gary Ave. Tickets are $35.

For details, visit citizenoftheyear.com.