The National Cheese Institute (NCI) is now accepting nominations for its highest honor, the NCI Laureate Award. The award winner will be recognized at a special ceremony during the 2007 Dairy Forum, January 14 to 17, in Orlando, Fla. Nominations are due to NCI by October 27, 2006, and there is no entry fee. Candidates should be business or academic leaders who have made significant, prolonged contributions to the development and growth of the cheese industry. The award recipient is chosen by a panel of industry professionals based on a nominee’s overall career achievements. “The success and growth of the U.S. cheese industry is driven by people who dedicate themselves to quality cheesemaking,” says Connie Tipton, president and chief executive officer of NCI and its parent group, the International Dairy Foods Association. “With this award, we’re looking to celebrate those individual contributions.” Award winners have ranged from cheese company founders and marketers to dairy microbiologists. This year’s winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2007 Dairy Forum, to be held at the Disney Yacht & Beach Club in Orlando. Dairy Forum is widely regarded as the most important dairy processor/producer conference of the year. For more information and a nomination form, visit www.idfa.org.