The United Way of Southwest Michigan is now taking nominations for its annual Volunteer Leadership Awards.

United Way volunteer coordinator Debbie Ramirez tells us they’re looking for two individuals who exemplify the volunteer spirit by serving their communities consistently. The United Way is seeking volunteers with eight or more years of experience, which could be with one organization, or several.

“Maybe they’re board members, maybe they’ve contributed great ideation or innovation to an organization or a set of organizations,” Ramirez said. “There’s not one specific mold that we look for.”

Ramirez says there are two Volunteer Leadership Awards. First is the Margaret B. Upton Volunteer Leadership Award, which goes to a volunteer from Berrien County.

“The Margaret B. Upton, we call it the MBU. The MBU award has been given close to 40 years. It’s been a longstanding award here in Berrien County, so it’s a big deal. There’s some big names who have won that before.”

The other award, the Judge Susan L. Dobrich Volunteer Leadership Award, has been around for four years and goes to a volunteer from Cass County.

The award winners will be announced at the United Way’s annual celebration in April. Organizations are invited to submit nominees through January 31. You can do so right here.