April 21, 2009


Dear Community Member,

The Iowa Council for International Understanding (ICIU), celebrating seventy-one years of connecting people and changing lives, is inviting nominations to its signature event, Passport to Prosperity: A Celebration of Iowa’s Immigrants and Refugees. We invite you to submit the name of someone you consider worthy of being named as one of the three honorees to Passport. It may be someone with whom you work or volunteer, a neighbor or friend.

To be eligible for nomination the person must have been born outside of the United States and have lived in Iowa for at least five years. Honorees will be chosen based on their significant contributions to communities in Iowa. Nominations will be accepted until Monday, June 1, 2009 for the event to be held on Saturday, October 3, 2009. Guidelines and a simple nomination form are enclosed. You may also find nomination forms at www.iciu.org.

Passport to Prosperity has become known far and wide for its internationally famous dinner, its unique entertainment, and the stories told by the immigrants and refugees, whose accomplishments the event honors. In celebration of its seventy-first anniversary, ICIU is expanding the leadership role it has played in assuring that Iowa has become a more inclusive and welcoming place to a broad spectrum of people. In partnership with the Business Record, we will be publishing and putting on line the first multi-lingual international resource guide for Iowa. New Iowans will be welcomed in eight different languages and provided the resources to live, work and raise a family in Iowa.

Join us in celebrating Iowa’s diversity and the people who have contributed to its success. Your completed nomination form may be faxed to 515-282-0454 or mailed to my attention at Iowa Council for International Understanding, 1000 Walnut Street, Suite 1105, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. If you have questions, please e-mail me at judith.conlin@iciu.org. Thank you and we look forward to celebrating with you at Iowa’s Passport to Prosperity.

Sincerely,



Dr. Judith A. Conlin
Executive Director
Iowa Council for International Understanding

The Iowa Council for International Understanding is honored to present our annual Passport to Prosperity event to recognize immigrants and refugees who have committed their time and efforts to improving our community. The recipients will be honored publicly for their accomplishments and contributions at our eighth annual event in October. Criteria for Nomination: • Must be an immigrant or refugee • Must have lived in Iowa at least five years • Must have made significant positive contributions to their community. Guidelines (no exceptions): • A maximum of two support letters per nominee may accompany nomination forms. Please elaborate as much as possible. • Pictures, slides, videos, and copies of books are not permitted • The nomination form and materials must be received by June 1, 2009. Nominations received after the deadline will NOT be considered. • With the exception of this nomination form, all attachments MUST be typed, double-spaced, and have a font size of 10 points or larger. • Please return the nomination form by FAX to 515-282-0454 or by mail to: Iowa Council for International Understanding 1000 Walnut Street, Suite 1105 Des Moines, IA 50309 For additional information email judith.conlin@iciu.org. Download 2009 Passport Nomination Form