The The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University recognizes Iowans who show the Six Pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS! every year. Qualities include trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship. Since 2005, more than 100 Iowans have been honored with the award for showing good character.
The 2017 Iowa Character Award recipients have been announced:
Aaron Eilerts Community Service Award: Jackson Fink (Des Moines)
Citizen of Character: Jack Eherenman (Waterloo) and Jeevanot “JJ” Kapur (West Des Moines); Honorable Mentions: Anna Curiel (Albia), Dayna Dunnwald (West Des Moines), Anthony Howland (Davenport), Mary Baumhover (Carroll)
Business/Organization of Character: Dress for Success (Des Moines); Honorable Mention: Drew’s Crew (Waukee), Animal Lifeline of Iowa (Carlisle), Youth Justice Initiative (West Des Moines)
Character Champion: Dr. Bill Watson (Urbandale)
Community of Character: Urbandale
Educator of Character: Dwight Beyer (Lynnville); Honorable Mention: Kevin Brasser (Paullina), Todd Pettit (Urbandale)
Partner of the Year: Register Media (Des Moines)
Pursuing Victory with Honor: Granny Basketball (Lansing)
School of Character: North Ridge Elementary (Grimes)
Student Team/Organization of Character: Stick-to-It 4-H Club (Sigourney); Honorable Mention: Nevada High School FFA (Nevada)
Award presentation Award recipients will receive their Iowa Character Award at an awards dinner on Friday, July 21, 2017 in Altoona, IA. The awards dinner will feature videos about each recipient. All nominees are invited to attend.