MANCHESTER, NH — Stay Work Play is now accepting nominations for its 11th annual Rising Stars Awards. Each year, the nominations reveal the emerging young leaders and organizations making a positive impact in their communities, and helping to shape the future of the Granite State.
An initiative of Stay Work Play, in partnership with New Hampshire Public Radio and presented by Eversource, the Rising Stars Awards celebrates and recognize New Hampshire’s remarkable young people and the businesses that go the extra mile to attract and retain them.
The seven Rising Stars Awards categories include:
- Civic Leader of the Year, which honors a person who, through his or her volunteerism, philanthropy or community involvement, demonstrates a commitment to civic participation, strengthening the community, and developing personal leadership capacity to make New Hampshire a better place for future generations;
- College Student of the Year, which honors a New Hampshire college student enrolled in a two- or four-year college, and between the ages of 18 and 40, who is an academic rising star and gives back to his or her community;
- Coolest Company for Young Professionals, which honors a company in New Hampshire that creates an environment, programs and workspace to attract and retain young professionals;
- High School Student of the Year, which honors a remarkable high school student that lives and goes to school in New Hampshire, between the ages of 13 and 18, who is making an impact in their community, actively engaged in their extracurriculars, and excels in the classroom.
- Intern of the Year, which honors a young person in New Hampshire who has made an outstanding impact on a company during their time as an intern;
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year, which honors a young entrepreneur who dedicates his or her time to starting and/or operating a new business, is making a positive contribution to the state’s economy and adds community vibrancy; and
- Young Professional of the Year, which honors an outstanding professional between the ages of 18 and 40 who works and lives in New Hampshire, who is a rising star in their industry, and gives back to their community.
For this year’s Rising Stars Awards, Stay Work Play has adopted a two-step nomination process for six award categories (Civic Leader of the Year, College Student of the Year, High School Student of the Year, Intern of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Young Professional of the Year). This change allows someone to more easily nominate someone else, and then for the nominee to complete part two of the nomination on their own – providing detailed insight into their achievements making for a more robust overall nomination. Part one of the nominations for the individual award categories are due by Friday, May 29, 2020.
Judging panels for each category, established by Stay Work Play, will select winners for the seven award categories. For the Coolest Company for Young Professionals, a panel of judges composed of young professionals from across the state will determine three award finalists. New to 2020, one of the three finalists will be selected as the award recipient through online public voting before the event and a live audience poll the evening of the event.
To nominate an individual or company, please visit stayworkplay.org/risingstarsawards for additional details and nomination materials. Nominations for the Coolest Company for Young Professionals and the completed individual award nominations will close on Friday, July 10, 2020. Winners will be celebrated at the Rising Stars Awards celebratory event on Thursday, October 15, 2020, at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester.
The 2020 Rising Stars Awards are generously sponsored by: Eversource, Currier Museum of Art, Elm Grove Companies, and Productions, Inc.
