The Olympics will decide the world’s finest athletes, but when it comes to hometown heroes, there’s no competition: New York has the best on the planet.
It’s again time to salute our superstar neighbors with the 11th annual New York Post Liberty Medal awards, and we’re inviting you, our readers, to tell us about those among us whose compassion and courage make this the most wonderful city on earth.
You know who’s on this team — the unknown good Samaritans who lend a hand when the chips are down, the can-do champs whose creative ideas make our lives better and those whose bravery keeps us safe.
The Post is partnering with Fox 5 and getting an exuberant assist from quintessential New Yorker Regis Philbin, who has emceed the award ceremony for nine consecutive years.
“I’ll be there for this year’s great stories from the people in this city who have done something to make you feel good about New York,” said Philbin. “There are so many things like that going on in this town. If you know somebody who does good things, let us know; we want to say thanks and tell them how important they are to all of us.”
You’ll find it easy to nominate someone. Just log on to nypost.com/libertymedals and submit nominations in the eight categories outlined below: Leadership, Courage, Lifetime Achievement, Young Heart, Freedom — an award “for an immigrant New Yorker who best embodies the values of honesty, industriousness and hard-earned success’’ or “a New Yorker who reflects the finest qualities of New York to the world’’ — and one each for the city’s teachers, cops and firefighters.
Tell us in 100 words or less why your nominee should be the toast of the town. You may nominate only living people but may nominate as many heroes as you like.
A panel of notable New Yorkers, including NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano and Lew Leone, vice president and general manager of WNYW-Fox5 and WWOR-My 9, will choose from among the nominees in each category to determine the winners, who will be honored by The Post on Oct. 17.
Each winner will receive a symbol of our heartfelt appreciation — a medal engraved with Lady Liberty’s torch and specially designed for The Post by celebrated New York graphic artist Milton Glaser, who created the iconic “I ♥ New York” logo.
2012 LIBERTY MEDAL CATEGORIES
■ Leadership Medal
For a compassionate, disciplined person whose activities during the past year most improved the quality of life in a borough or neighborhood.
■ Freedom Medal
For an immigrant New Yorker who best embodies the values of honesty, industriousness and hard-earned success or a New Yorker who reflects the finest qualities of New York to the world.
■ Courage Medal
For a notable act of bravery by a civilian that contributed to saving human life.
■ New York’s Bravest Medal
For the firefighter or EMS technician whose performance in the line of duty best exemplifies the department’s unflinching heroism; to be selected in consultation with the FDNY.
■ New York’s Finest Medal
For the police officer whose on-the-job performance reflects the department’s honor and selflessness; to be selected in consultation with the NYPD and the Port Authority Police Department.
■ Educator Medal
For an administrator or teacher who excels at preparing the next generation of New Yorkers for their future challenges.
■ Young Heart Medal
For the youth under 17 who most impressively manifests adult resolve — not for a physical feat but for behavior that displays moral character or mature judgment during the past year.
■ Lifetime Achievement Medal
For the individual whose accomplishments reflect the very best of our city.
Last year’s Medal winners
LEADERSHIP (Tie)
JEFFREY SMALLS
He believes students should have options, so this owner of an electrical-contracting firm helped mount a campaign that convinced the city to open a new high school, the Bronx Design and Construction Academy, which highlights building-trades programs.
MARYANN HEDAA
Dedicated to helping kids in the South Bronx, she founded the nonprofit Hunts Point Alliance for Children, which serves kids in the 10474 ZIP code from birth through college, providing an array of educational, social and nutritional programs.
FREEDOM
MOHAMMAD RAZVI
This Pakistani native started a Brooklyn-based nonprofit, the Council of Peoples Organization, to help low-income immigrant families, particularly those from South Asian and Muslim nations, understand their rights and responsibilities as they adapt to life in New York. He also works to build bridges among diverse groups in the city.
COURAGE
LUIS CORRALES
This EMS lieutenant was heading to Manhattan on his day off when he saw a man topple off a subway platform. He jumped onto the tracks and helped rescue the unconscious man.
YOUNG HEART
CAROLINE WATTERS and LISETTE WATTERS
The siblings, now 12 and 14, tirelessly raise awareness of — and funds for — blood-cancer research. They speak at events for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, telling audiences about how then-4-year-old Lisette donated bone marrow to Caroline, then 2, after the toddler was diagnosed with leukemia.
BRAVEST
PETER DEMONTREUX
He ran a gantlet of flames to lead a man to safety after a room they entered in a burning Brooklyn brownstone ignited and set both of them afire. The heat reached a searing 1,000 degrees and roasted the firefighter’s protective bunker coat.
FINEST
RICARDO RAMIREZ, RADEK TEREPKA and BRIAN McIVOR
An East New York gun battle left Ramirez shot in the leg and bleeding. McIvor saved his life by using a belt as a tourniquet, as Terepka held the teen shooting suspect.
EDUCATOR
SANA NASSER
The principal of the Bronx’s Harry S. Truman HS transformed one of the city’s largest public high schools by creating small, career-theme academies.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
EUGENE LANG
In 1981, the businessman and philanthropist promised sixth-graders at East Harlem’s PS 121 that if they graduated from high school, he’d send them to college — and then he launched the national I Have a Dream Foundation, which has helped thousands of others.