Nonprofits who want to nominate a man and/or woman for Santa Clarita Valley Man and Woman of the Year need to turn in their applications by Feb. 15.

Every year, the Santa Clarita Valley Man and Woman of the Year dinner recognizes two local residents who have made a significant impact through volunteer service and nonprofit work.

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The deadline for nonprofit organizations to nominate a candidate is fast-approaching. All applications must be received by Saturday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m.

In a typical year, between 30 and 40 men and women are nominated for the honor. Each nonprofit organization is allowed to nominate one man and one woman.

This year, less than 10 organizations have nominated candidates so far, said Steve Sturgeon, 2013 Man of the Year.

“It’s less than we normally have at this time,” he said.

Related Article: Elizabeth Hopp And Steve Sturgeon Named Man & Woman Of The Year

Once all the applications are received, nominees and their organizations will be invited to a Paparazzi Party in March.

The Man and Woman of the Year committee, comprised of past honorees, will vote in April, often going through several rounds before choosing the winners.

This year, the committee sent nomination requests to 70 local charities, some of which have never participated in Man and Woman of the Year, Sturgeon said.

He said that he sees the competition and his award last year as “an honored recognition of the efforts that many individuals in this community have put forth as they serve the 50+ nonprofit organizations in this valley alone.”

Nominees are accepted based on several criteria to measure their service in the community:

• Volunteer effort (sweat equity) – 60 points
• Years of service – 20 points
• Number of 501(c)(3) organizations this individual has served – 10 points
• Other (in-kind, financial, etc.) – 10 points

The goal is honor those people that otherwise might not be noticed for their service, according to 2013 Woman of the Year Elizabeth Hopp.

“We’re primarily looking to recognize the people that do so much for Santa Clarita, that people may not know about,” she said. “There’s a whole underbelly of folks that make things happen in our valley, whether its through their civic involvement, charity work, helping businesses, helping kids… They don’t do it for the recognition.”

Past honorees have included both KHTS AM-1220 co-owners Carl Goldman and Jeri Seratti-Goldman, Don and Cheri Fleming of Valencia Acura, Councilman Bob Kellar and former Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy.

Currently, nomination applications are available from Sturgeon’s business, Confidential Data Destruction by calling 661-257-9970 or sending an email to steve@shredderonsite.com.

Applications can also be dropped off at Confidential Data Destruction’s Valencia office: 28042 Avenue Stanford, Unit E.

For more background and a list past winners, click here.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

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