Who should be Tar Heel of the Month? Send us your nominations.

Since 1997, The News & Observer has named a Tar Heel of the Year, recognizing North Carolinians who have made lasting and significant contributions to the state. Honorees come from all over North Carolina and from different sectors of the community, including the arts, business, philanthropy, education and science.

In 2019, we want readers to recommend nominees as we select a Tar Heel of the Month. At the end of the year, these monthly honorees will be among those considered for the ultimate recognition — the Tar Heel of the Year.

Longtime readers will note this is a shift from our Tar Heel of the Week stories. This year, we’ll switch to Tar Heel of the Month profiles, so we can delve deeper to get to know these leaders better. Look for the monthly profiles the last Sunday of each month.

Here is how you can nominate someone:

▪ Fill out the nomination form below or at nando.com/tarheelidea.

▪ Email the following information to tarheel@newsobserver.com.

In your nomination:

▪ Be detailed and specific about why you are nominating this person. Describe their impact, achievement or accomplishment. Please include your contact information and the nominee’s contact information, if you can.

▪ Nominees do not have to be native North Carolinians but they must live here now.

▪ Nominees can come from any field and be any age.

▪ Only one nomination per person is necessary. Multiple nominees from the same person won’t affect the decision.

▪ Final selections will made by the N&O staff.

Once you make your submission, we’d love for you to post your choice on social media. Use the hashtag #NandOTarHeel.

Tar Heel of the Month 2019

January: Maggie Kane, founder of A Place at the Table

February: Bill Ferris, Grammy winner and folklorist

March: Patricia Timmons-Goodson, former justice on the N.C. Supreme Court and member of U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

April: Samantha Meltzer-Brody, Founder and director of UNC Perinatal Psychiatry Program of the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders

May: Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, entrepreneur and founder of Bee Downtown

June: Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina Hurricanes coach

July: NC Courage players who were on winning U.S. World Cup team

August: Astronaut Christina Koch, North Carolina native making history in space

September: Kia Baker, executive director of the nonprofit Southeast Raleigh Promise

This story was originally published December 29, 2018 at 7:00 AM.

Jessica Banov

The News & Observer

919-829-4831

Jessica Banov is a news editor and audience growth specialist at The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. She was part of the team from The N&O and The Charlotte Observer that was named a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Breaking News for coverage of Hurricane Helene. She also serves as The N&O’s intern program coordinator.