With the culmination of another year, it is tradition to chronicle all that has taken place, and take notice of those individuals who have gone above and beyond their call of duty in making 2005 a better year for all of us. Many newspapers and television programs do this annually, and we here at The Nassau Herald are no exception.

In our final issue of each year, a Person of the Year is selected for recognition not by us - but by you, our readers. Using a nomination form, which this year, can be found on page 30, people all across the Five Towns send us their choices for this honorable distinction. After we receive all of the nominations, the newspaper's editor, which is now myself, will select the one person out of all of the nominees who will receive the award.

As I have said since becoming The Herald's editor, this is your community newspaper. And since the Five Towns has a population of approximately 47,504 people, according to the 2000 Census, and the circulation of The Nassau Herald is near 10,000, I am hoping for enough nominations to bury my desk, because anyone that is reading this newspaper is eligible to nominate someone for Person of the Year.

As for who should be nominated, might I suggest someone who really makes a difference in the lives of the people of the Five Towns. Someone who goes out of their way to improve their community as a whole. Someone who puts the needs of the many in front of their own needs. Or someone who made the Five Towns a better place to live. For example, I would love to nominate my mother, because she has helped me tremendously this year and all the years of my life. But she would not qualify for Person of the Year because she has helped me, not the community or residents of the Five Towns. (Plus, she lives in Brooklyn. Sorry, mom.)

In other words, think of someone who truly fits the criteria for this honor, and send me the form telling me why they should be the 2005 Nassau Herald's Person of the Year. You can send the form to: Nassau Herald, P.O. Box 9001, Lawrence, NY 11559. Or, you could e-mail me the information contained in the form to nassaueditor@liherald.com.

If you know a Five Towner who is worthy of this honor, please take the time to fill out the form and send it to me. This is my first time choosing a Person of the Year for The Nassau Herald, and I hope that in order to do so, I have to go through hundreds of nominations in order to make my choice. Remember, this is your community, so it's only fitting that you make the choice for its Person of the Year.

Happy nominating.