Many of us are limiting our trips out of the house, and the mail system is flooded with holiday greetings to deliver. But if you’re looking for a gift for a female colleague (or yourself, if you’re a woman), here’s one you can give without even stepping away from your computer: a nomination for a McKnight’s Women of Distinction award.

Jan. 6 is the deadline for all entries.

This is the third year for the awards competition, held by McKnight’s Senior Living and our sister media brand, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, to recognize exceptional women working in the respective fields we cover, senior living and skilled nursing. Eligible for recognition are women who are direct care providers, managers, executives, corporate executives and owners in independent living, assisted living, memory care and life plan communities, as well as those working in these capacities in skilled nursing facilities. Those who serve the field indirectly, for instance as association staff members or thought leaders, also are eligible.

The awards recognize women in three categories — including a new one that we added this year, based on participant feedback, to recognize even more deserving women:

  • Hall of Honor candidates should be at the level of vice president (or equivalent) or higher and must have made a significant impact in their organizations.
  • Rising Stars nominees should have fewer than 15 years of experience in the industry or be no more than 40 years old, and they must have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the industry.
  • New this year, Veteran VIP honorees will fall between the Hall of Honor inductees and Rising Stars. Veteran VIP nominees should have more than 15 years of experience in senior living or skilled nursing but should be at a level lower than vice president (or equivalent).

A lifetime achievement award also will be bestowed.

Even with a vaccine on its way, we still don’t know when it’ll be safe to gather in person again, so all selected honorees will be celebrated at a virtual awards event in May that also will include continuing education sessions. Additional details about those events will be announced at a later date, but take a peek at the 2020 virtual event here (free registration is required). As anyone who attended can attest, it was a lot of fun!

Inductees also will be recognized with coverage on McKnightsSeniorLiving.com and McKnights.com and in our print magazines.

If you’d like to nominate yourself or someone else, be prepared to share information about work history, exceptional achievements and contributions or service, and anything else you believe could sway the judges. The nomination form has word limits, but it’ll be in your best interest to provide as much information as possible within those limits.

And the sooner you submit, the better! Nominations submitted through this Wednesday will have a $69 entry fee. (But your nominee doesn’t need to know you scored a deal!) Nominations submitted on or after Thursday will have a $99 entry fee.

For more information and to nominate someone for recognition, visit this website. You can read about last year’s awards ceremony and honorees online.