SALISBURY – The last day to make nominations for the Elizabeth Duncan Koontz Humanitarian Award is fast approaching.

The annual awards honor people in the Salisbury and Rowan County area who have made contributions to the improvement of human relations through education, women’s rights, employment, housing, industry, business, civic relations, and church and community service.

The award is given in honor of Elizabeth Duncan Koontz, who became the first African-American to be named president of the National Education Association in 1968. She was director of the Women’s Bureau in the U.S. Labor Department during the Nixon administration and served as North Carolina’s assistant state superintendent of public instruction during her long career.

Koontz also helped re-establish the Human Relations Council in 1985.

The deadline for nominations is Jan. 12. To make a nomination online, visit www.salisburync.gov/EDKnomination.

The awards banquet be in February.