EDWARDSBURG — Know of someone who has had a positive impact on Edwardsburg Public Schools? Now is the time to help them be recognized by the EPS Foundation for his or her contribution to the school system.

The application period is open to nominate someone for the 12th class of the EPS Hall of Fame through March 30. The hall of fame is for outstanding citizens who have represented Edwardsburg  Schools well.

The nominees must either be alumni of the school system, or have been involved with it in some capacity. This class of inductees will be announced at Edwardsburg High School’s Homecoming football game in October, and honored at a dinner that will take place the following April.

“I think it’s important to recognize people who have done well and have been a good ambassador for Edwardsburg Public Schools,” said Birdella Holdread, president of the school board and chairperson for the hall of fame. “We just need to hear some good news sometimes, instead of always hearing the bad, so it’s always nice when you can see that people have truly been a good ambassador for Edwardsburg Public Schools.”

Technically, there is no rule against self-nominating, though, Holdread advises against it.

“It’s better if someone nominates you,” she said. “We had one person nominate themself, but I believe, in my opinion, it’s better to have someone nominate you because they are acknowledging that you’ve done well for Edwardsburg Public Schools.”

An individual needs to meet criteria for one of four different awards to be nominated to the EPS Hall of Fame.

The first is by being a named a Student Activities Award, which means they graduated from Edwardsburg High School at least 10 years ago and performed well academically and in extracurricular activities.

The second is for former staff members who demonstrated exceptional leadership, character and achievement, and have not been working in the school system for at least two years.

The majority of hall of fame inductees are receiving the Lifetime Award, which is for those who graduated more than 40 years ago who reflects the district honorably based on their character.

The last option is the Special Award, which is given to alumni, faculty, staff or friends of the school board who do not meet any of the previous criteria but are still deemed worthy of recognition by the hall of fame.

In order to complete an application, an individual will need to provide their name and address, their nominee’s name and address, and all the relevant information that makes them worthy of possibly being inducted into the hall of fame.

“You need to tell the committee why you think this person should be inducted,” Holdread said. “You need to be boastful about them. Let us know why we should even consider them and give us some history of what makes them eligible for the Hall of Fame.”

When the hall of fame first started, there could be as many as 10 inductees per year. However, now there can be a maximum of three, and generally, there are only one or two.

The only inductee for the 11th class is Scott Teter, who is receiving a Lifetime Award. He graduated from Edwardsburg High School in 1980, and is an attorney for the state of Michigan. He will be honored at the annual EPS Hall of Fame Dinner on April 27.

Other previous winners include former Edwardsburg principal Robert Mette, outgoing superintendent Sherman Ostrander and former coach and teacher Leo Hoffman.

A downloadable PDF of the application for EPS Hall of Fame nominations can be found on the district’s website, EdwardsburgPublicSchools.org. The application needs to be completed and received by March 30.

For more details, see the application.