Citizen of the Year nominations are accepted at Jonesville City Hall. Courtesy | Facebook

The City of Jonesville is looking for outstanding citizens to be nominated for its 2024 Jonesville Citizen of the Year awards.

Nominations should be submitted at the Jonesville City Hall by March 1. 

There are both youth and adult awards and nominations are open to anyone living in the Jonesville community. 

“The awards will be given for recognition of individuals with distinguished and outstanding

citizenship in serving Jonesville,” said a statement from the city. “Award recipients will be recognized at a ceremony to be held in April.”

Jeff Gray, Jonesville city manager and member of the Jonesville Citizenship Award Committee, said he is grateful for the way the award ceremony brings the community together to honor the award winners.

“The Citizenship Awards night is one of my favorite activities that I get to be involved in,” Gray said. “It is a wonderful ceremony where the nominators give heartfelt speeches about the Citizens of the Year. We learn all of the quiet ways that the nominee has supported the community.”

Andy Penrose is the Chair of the Committee and a member of the Jonesville City Council. Penrose said he hopes the community will come out for the ceremony.

“We invite any former winners to come and we certainly encourage their families and friends to come. It’s one of my favorite times of the year,” he said. “It brings people together and they can hear about the quality things that the nominees have done for the community.”

He said the committee looks for citizens with lots of community involvement.

“It has to be somebody that is involved with the community. Not necessarily paid work, but especially volunteer work,” Penrose said.

The Citizen of the Year awards program was started by Ron Hayes several years ago, who was the original chairman of the committee.

Penrose, who was a friend of Hayes, said he is honored to continue to chair the committee.

“It is important that we continue this event because it is a part of Ron’s legacy,” Penrose said.

The committee hopes to get multiple nominations to choose from.

“It’s not a contest, so there might be three or four people that are nominated,” Penrose said. “Depending on their qualification and how they’ve served the community, that’s how they are chosen.”

Nomination forms are available at City Hall or by visiting Jonesville’s website. For more information about the awards, call the Jonesville City Hall at (517) 849-2104.