Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell has opened the nomination period for the annual Governor’s North Star Awards for International Excellence. The awards honor successes in exports, investments and exchanges.

“This award is an excellent opportunity for Alaska to celebrate and honor our businesses, organizations, and educational and scientific exchange programs that connect Alaska to the world through their international ties,” Governor Parnell said.

The awards will be presented in May. Alaskan businesses, schools, and other organizations active in international arenas may nominate themselves or others in one or more categories: export of goods, export of services, foreign investment, education, the travel industry, transportation, cultural exchange, humanitarian exchange or scientific exchange. Awards are given in several categories in any given year but are not necessarily given in all categories each year. The Export Council of Alaska and others assist the State of Alaska in reviewing nominations.

The companies and organizations honored in the past three years were:

2011 – Teck Resources Limited, Hai Shirokuma Tours, Turnagain Elementary School Russian Immersion Program, Affinity Films and PolyEarth Construction International.

2010 – Seafood Producers’ Cooperative, Coastal Villages, All Alaska Tours, China Airlines, Institute of the North, and Alaska Sudan Medical Project.

2009 – Alaska World Affairs Council, Condor Airlines, ADS-B Technologies, the Ketchikan-Kanayama Exchange, the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository in partnership with Koniag Native Corporation, and Rotary District 5010.

Nominations are due by 5 pm on May 4, 2012. The Governor’s North Star Awards for International Excellence nomination form and instructions are available at:

https://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/governors-office/international-trade/north-star-award.html

For more information about the Governor’s North Star Awards for International Excellence, please contact Patricia Eckert at (907) 269-8118.