2026 Community Impact Awards Nomination Form

Greater Tucson Leadership (GTL) is NOW accepting nominations for the 74th Community Impact Awards. Nominations will be open from Tuesday, September 1, 2026 through Sunday, October 18, 2026. The 2026 honorees will be celebrated on Saturday, March 20, 2027 at the Tucson Convention Center.

Estimated time: 20 to 30 minutes, depending on whether you already have your supporting documents prepared.
 

HISTORY OF AWARDS 

Tucson's Man and Woman of the Year was established in 1952 by the Tucson Advertising Club. The Tucson Metro Chamber assumed the Man and Woman of the Year Program in 1983 and provided GTL with the honor of carrying on the tradition of these awards in 2012. The award program honors a man and a woman who have, in the recent or past few years, distinguished themselves through exceptional leadership and service to the Tucson community. Honorees are those who have invested their time, expertise, and resources to advance community well-being, support others, and exemplify integrity and respect through their actions.

The Founders Award was established in 1985 to augment the Man and Woman of the Year Awards. This separate and distinct "lifetime achievement" award cites individuals who have demonstrated significant long-term community involvement and accomplishments and who have helped shape the community in a quality, positive manner with merit and dedication.

The Greater Tucson Leadership Alumni Excellence Award was established in 2017 to recognize an alumnus whose experience in a GTL program profoundly shaped their leadership journey. Recipients have taken the knowledge, perspective, and connections gained through GTL and put them into action, creating meaningful and lasting impact in the Tucson community.

Honorees are chosen based on the breadth of their impact in the community and the contributions they have made beyond the scope of their employment.

Nominations may be made by an individual or a group. However, we encourage one contact person to coordinate submission, and submit all materials at one time. All information will be held confidential. NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN 12:00 PM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2026 AND MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A HEADSHOT OF THE NOMINEE, ONE LETTER OF SUPPORT, AND NOMINEE QUESTION ANSWERS. NOMINATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THAT TIME AND DATE. Additional letters of support are highly encouraged but no more than five (5) and must be submitted by the nomination deadline.

Thank you for your support of this distinguished recognition in our community.

ELIGIBILITY

Man of the Year and Woman of the Year
Any person who has not been honored as a Man of the Year or Woman of the Year recipient is eligible.

Founders Award
Any person who has not been honored as a Founders Award recipient is eligible. Previous recipients of the Man of the Year or Woman of the Year award are eligible to be nominated for the Founders Award.

Alumni Excellence Award
Any person who has not been honored as an Alumni Excellence Award recipient and has completed either the GTL Lead Tucson or Civic and Political Leadership Academy program is eligible.

Additional Eligibility Requirements
To ensure fairness and transparency, current Greater Tucson Leadership staff and members currently serving on the Board of Directors are not eligible for nomination. In addition, GTL staff and the current Governing Board Chair are not permitted to participate in the nomination process.

Click here for a list of past honorees.

SELECTION

Community nominations. Community selection.
Community Impact Award honorees are nominated by members of the Tucson community and selected by a broad-based committee of community leaders appointed by the CEO and the Chair of the Greater Tucson Leadership Governing Board. The selection committee is comprised of sixteen community leaders representing business, government, nonprofit, higher education, and Greater Tucson Leadership. All nominations are vetted for conflicts of interest that may occur before the judge’s review.  All nominations are reviewed based on the materials submitted through criterion specific to each award.

The Man and Woman of the Year Awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and service to the Tucson community. Honorees are those who have invested their time, expertise, and resources to advance community well-being, support others, and exemplify integrity and respect through their actions. These honorees lead by example, uplift others, and champion community projects in recent years.

The Founders Award honors individuals whose lifetime of service and leadership has left a lasting mark on our community. These recipients have given of themselves over many years, leaving behind a legacy of impact, inspiration, and community strength that has helped shape Tucson in a positive and enduring way over the course of their lifetime.

The GTL Alumni Excellence Award recipient will have distinguished themselves by putting the knowledge, perspectives, and strengths-based leadership principles gained through a GTL program into action. They have demonstrated a sustained commitment to the Greater Tucson community by contributing their leadership, time, and talent to create meaningful impact after completing their GTL program.

Honorees are chosen based on the breadth of their impact in the community and the contributions they have made beyond the scope of their employment.

The selection committee retains the right to move any nominee from one category to another during the judging process.

Multiple Nominations: If a nominee is submitted more than once, only the first complete nomination received will be provided to the review panel for consideration. Subsequent nomination forms will not replace or supplement the original submission. 

If you know that others are planning to nominate this same person, we encourage you to coordinate and submit one strong nomination together.

Click here for last years selection committee.

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS

Recipients of the GTL Community Impact Awards will be notified and honorees will be announced publicly in December 2026. AWARD RECIPIENTS MUST BE AVAILABLE SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2027 TO ACCEPT THEIR AWARD AT THE EVENT.

Honoree videos and photographs will be used for promotional purposes.

 BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Please have the following ready before starting your nomination:
•    Nominee contact information (employer or affiliation, address, and phone number)
•    Nominee headshot (high resolution .jpg or .png)
•    Completed Nominee Questions document - download the nominee questions here
•    At least one letter of support (up to five accepted)
Nominations cannot be saved and returned to later, so we recommend gathering your materials first.

Nominee Information

Nominator Information

Required Attachments

Download nominee questions here.