Beliefnet has a cool program every year, the “Most Inspiring Person” award.  PLease take a look at the nominees below, and vote at 
http://www.beliefnet.com/mostinspiringperson

Meet  the Nominees for Beliefnet’s Most Inspiring Person of the Year for 2009:

·        Captain “Sully” Sullenberger? “Hero of the Hudson” Saved Everyone on Board His Plane

Minutes after takeoff, both engines of US Airways Flight 1549 went dead, and Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the commanding pilot, knew he had just moments to save the 155 people aboard. Capt. Sullenberger, 58, is nominated for his display of grace under pressure and devotion to duty.  He has been lauded by everyone from presidents to his hometown fire department in Danville, Calif.

• Air Force Maj. Tobin Griffeth and Capt. Katie Illingworth?Football Rivals Rally in Support of Afghanistan Families
  

Air Force officers Maj. Tobin Griffeth and Capt. Katie Illingworth, serving at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, turned the Battle of the Red River–a football rivalry between the University of Texas Longhorns and the University of Oklahoma Sooners–into Operation Red River Cares, a charity drive that supplies warm clothes, shoes and school supplies for suffering Afghans. 

• Kaleb Eulls?High School Student Saved His Classmates’ Lives
  

When Kaleb Eulls, 18, saw a girl waving a gun around on a school bus, he didn’t stop to think.  Eulls, one of the best high school quarterbacks in Mississippi, tackled the girl and allowed the 20 passengers to escape unharmed.  He is nominated for having the courage to put himself in harm’s way to save others.

• Zach Bonner?Sixth-Grader Raises Money and Awareness for Homeless Children
  

Last year, 12-year-old Zach Bonner, of Tampa, Fla., made a 1200-mile “My House to the White House” walk to raise money to house homeless youth.  This year, he has set off on a coast-to-coast walk to benefit a Boys’ and Girls’ Club in Los Angeles. From the time he was six years old, Zach has been on a mission; he’s collected bottled water for hurricane victims, filled backpacks with food, toys and essentials for homeless children, in an active conviction that no one is ever too young to change the world.

• Jill and Kevin’s Wedding Dance?Couple Spreads Joy and Combats Domestic Violence
  

Last June, bride-to-be Jill Peterson, her fiancé Kevin Heinz and 16 wedding attendants captured their wedding dance on video, releasing a flood of happiness that spread way beyond their St. Paul, Minn., church as the video went viral, garnering more than 32 million views on YouTube.  The couple turned their inspirational video into an anti-domestic violence fundraising tool.

• Jorge Munoz?Bus Driver Spends Half His Salary on Feeding the Hungry
  

Jorge Munoz uses his modest salary as a school bus driver to buy food, help cook it and personally deliver it to hungry people living in Queens, N.Y.,–every day, rain or shine.  Munoz, 45, organized a nonprofit organization called “An Angel in Queens” to serve more than 140 meals to the homeless through his own resources and small donations from local vendors.

• Paul Levy?Boston Hospital CEO Slashed Salary and Engaged Staff to Keep People Working
  

In a year of devastating budget cuts, Paul Levy, CEO of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was faced with the painful prospect of cutting 600 jobs.  Levy, 59, involved the entire hospital staff in creating a plan that cut their own salaries and benefits, including his own, so that low-wage workers were spared and only 70 jobs were lost.

• Michael J. Fox?Celebrity Activist for Parkinson’s Disease and “Incurable Optimist”
  

In his long struggle with Parkinson’s disease, actor and author Michael J. Fox has never given in to the darkness of the disease. Instead, he uses it to rally people around the world in a fight against the degenerative brain illness. Even in the face of debilitating condition and the uncertainty of a cure he has raised more than $154 million dollars and is a vocal advocate for stem cell research.

• Danny Cottrell?Recession-Weary Pharmacist Inspired His Alabama Community to Pay It Forward
  

With many businesses struggling to survive the economic downturn, Danny Cottrell, a pharmacist in tiny Brewton, Ala., gave his 24 employees a bonus under the condition that they give 15 percent to charity and spend the rest at local businesses.  Cottrell is nominated for demonstrating that neighbors can help neighbors out of tough economic times and for inspiring other businesses across the country to follow his lead and pay it forward.

• Iranians for Freedom?They Risked Their Lives for Democracy
  

After Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad captured a second term in a highly disputed election, hundreds of thousands of Iranian citizens took to the streets.  The protesters are nominated for their refusal to defer the dream of democracy and their willingness to sacrifice their own personal freedom–and even their lives–to push for democracy.
 
Last year’s Most Inspiring Person of the Year honor went to Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, whose “Last Lecture” video and bestselling book touched the hearts of millions of people around the world.  Previous honorees also included the Virginia Tech Professor, leader and mentor Liviu Librescu in acknowledgement of the selfless courage when he sacrificed his life for his beloved students, and the Amish Community of Nickel Mines, Penn., in recognition for their remarkable spirit of forgiveness in reaction to the murder of five young girls from their tight-knit community.  
 
Beliefnet readers can discuss the nominees and share more stories of inspiring moments from 2009 in the Beliefnet Community here: http://community.beliefnet.com/go/thread/view/43891/20154601/Who_Inspired_You_This_Year.