Nominations for the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance’s Catalyst Award are open now through noon on Feb. 14.

The award celebrates the “inspiration, charity, wisdom, unifier and the breath of life” of a professional in the Fort Dodge community. It will be presented during the Growth Alliance’s annual dinner in March.

This year, the annual dinner will be at 5 p.m. March 5 at the Best Western Starlite Village Inn & Suites. The guest speaker for the dinner will be Scott Siepker, an actor, writer, producer and filmmaker best known as the “Iowa Nice Guy.”

The first Catalyst Award was presented to Norma Schmoker in 1986, and has been awarded every year since.

According to Dennis Plautz, CEO of the Growth Alliance, there are four criteria for the Catalyst Award.

First, the nominee must be a member of the Growth Alliance, or an employee of a member firm, and have shown an active presence in the community.

“They must be an active, visible leader who is a catalyst for implementing actions that enhance the economic and civic environment of the community,” Plautz said, explaining the second criterion.

The third is the nominee must “consistently demonstrate excellence in their business or profession, and in community service.”

Finally, they must also “contribute exemplary time and effort to promote community spirit and civic pride.”

The Catalyst Award is the highest accolade the Growth Alliance confers, Plautz said.

“I think this is a tremendous award because so often, people do a lot of community service, sort of selfless giving, and yet it goes unnoticed because they don’t talk about it,” he said. “One thing I’ve found over the years in looking at the winners is there are a lot of people that I had no idea they did as much as they’ve done for this community. There’s an awful lot of deserving people.”

The nomination form can be found at http://www.greaterfortdodge.com/news-and-events/catalyst-award, or nominations can be delivered to Jill Nelson at the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, 24 N. Ninth St., Suite A.

RSVP for the annual dinner is required by Feb. 27. To RSVP, email kate@greaterfortdodge.comor or call 515-955-5500.