The Dispatch Eyes Shore Stars

OCEAN CITY – Do you know of someone who gives of their time to make the community a better place to live and work?

If so, The Dispatch wants to hear from you.

According to Publisher Steve Green, “The Dispatch’s Shore Stars” has been launched to recognize leading citizens in Wicomico, Worcester and Sussex counties. Green said this week the plan is to hold three different campaigns each year shining a spotlight on a wide range of citizens in the region.

The first campaign is called “Charitable Souls” and aims to honor residents who are on the forefront of charity work in their communities.

“It could be the person hammering nails at Habitat for Humanity projects, the woman who volunteers to feed the dogs at the Humane Society on cold mornings or the person who drives around dropping off meals to the needy,” said Green. “There are hundreds of these folks in our community, and we think they deserve to be put in the spotlight for all they do. We respect their contributions and want to honor them.”

The Dispatch is currently seeking nominees from the public and a committee will reduce those individuals down to the 40 winners, who will be recognized in a commemorative full-color publication on Feb. 25 and honored with an award at an upscale cocktail party on March 2 at Fager’s Island.

For more information or to nominate a worthy individual, go to www.mdcoastdispatch.com or email [email protected].

The event is being sponsored by D3 Corp, Atlantic General Hospital, Taylor Bank, Insurance Management Group, Inc., Brian and Christine Selzer of Merrill Lynch, Bergey & Company, PA, Bartash Printing and The Dispatch.

Although the paper’s first campaign is well underway with about 70 nominations already received, Green is already looking ahead to the next awards campaign in early summer, recognizing leading businesswomen on the shore.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of local people who stand out in our area for any number of reasons, and we are hoping to salute them with our new ‘Shore Stars’ program,” Green said. “We have the vehicle to do it with our newspaper and other affiliations, the will and, thanks to our generous sponsors, we also have the resources to do it the right way.”