Rising Star nominations are now open

As you may have read in , we have opened nominations for the second Rising Star awards program.As I explained in the editorial, this program is intended to recognize the good work being done by young people in this community -- and there is a lot of it.You can find the nomination form at .In the three days since we opened nominations, we have two nominations already.So FAQs that I often get about the program.Q: Is this open to both government and industry?A: Yes. There are good people in many different areas -- government, industry, education, non-profit. If they are in this community, you qualify.Q: Is there a specific age cut-off?A: No. We have tried to avoid that because people may be in a second career. That was particularly true post-September 11th. Essentially, we are looking for rising, not risen. Risen is for the Fed 100 awards program. So if the person is older, in your nomination, I'd address that somewhere.Q: What is the criteria?A: Frankly, the criteria is determined by the judges, and the judges are different, so I can't tell you exactly. Make your case for the work that the person has done in the past year (give or take).Q: I don't have enough space. Can I get more words?A: Um, no! Remember that the judges have many of these to go through, so it is better to be efficient. As writers, we know that writing short is much more difficult then writing long, but... it can be more effective.Q: How do I know if my nomination was received?A: You'll get a confirmation page on the Web site.If you have questions, just let me know.I'll try and address more questions as they come up.I'm pulling together our judges right now. I always love recommendations. If you know somebody that you think would be good, let me know that too.