Mary Aplington, third from left, at the 2015 MLK Luncheon.
The 40th annual Martin Luther King Junior Awards in Bloomington-Normal will feature 13 nominees. Four winners will be announced January 16 at ISU's Bone Student Center.
Two high school students and two adults -- including Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal's Mary Aplington, who has been working with local schools to stop bullying and bigotry -- will be recognized for promoting tolerance and understanding.
In the running are students Marcus Brooks, Rahul Vudaru, Veena Yeleswarapu, Rachek Beck, Keerthi Amballa, Amanda Breeden, Amari Funderburg, and Helen Steinbacher-Kemp.
Adult contenders for the honor include: Aplington, NIOTBN alumni Arlene Hosea and Marcos Mendez, Jesse Padilla, and Arthur Haynes.
The Human Relations Commissions of Bloomington and Normal make the selections.