Another election is over, and many of those who voted in it consider their citizenship duty fulfilled for one more year.

Well, no.

Voting is vitally important, but there are 364 other days in the year when community interests need the people’s hands-on nurturing. Unless citizenship extends beyond the voting booth, professor Keith Melville, of Fielding Graduate University, wrote recently, “we are left with a diminished public life.”

Fortunately, many citizens are fully in synch with Melville. Today, a day set aside for gratitude, such engaged community members deserve a measure of our thanksgiving.

Some of them are among the well-positioned elite, but many are just, well, commoners. Uncommoners, is more like it, because they have internalized their sense of civic responsibility and they take it to uncommon levels.

“Uncommoners” is what The Spokesman-Review editorial board has chosen to call the exemplary citizens whose contributions we plan to acknowledge New Year’s Day as the Inland Northwest’s outstanding citizens of 2006.

A similar effort in 2005 focused on choosing one honoree who turned out to be Shannon Sullivan, the single mom who led the grass-roots effort to force a recall election on discredited Mayor Jim West. Her drive and determination – motivated largely by a belief that her son and other youngsters should be able to look up to public leaders – altered the civic contours of Spokane.

It became clear during the editorial board’s selection process, however, that a single category of achievement did not to justice to the volume and diversity of good works taking part in the region. So we broadened the project to five categories, and we again are inviting your participation in the nomination and selection of fitting honorees. The categories include:

“Citizen activist. Those who volunteer personal time and energy in the interest of community betterment.

“Businessperson. Yes, it’s OK to do good works at the same time you are making a buck. The important element is a dedication to the community’s best interest.

“Government official. Politics and bureaucracy don’t have to be dirty words. Some people, either elected or appointed, treat public service as a noble responsibility.

“Nonprofit worker. Some work is too big for individuals but outside the realm of government. Communities wither without nonprofit organizations to fill the gap.

“Lifetime achievement. While the other four categories are confined to deeds within the calendar year, it’s impossible to ignore the cumulative impact that comes from year after year of dedication. We’ll acknowledge those career accomplishments, too.

If you know of an uncommoner, please tell us about him or her. E-mail nominations to citizencall@spokesman.com or mail them to Doug Floyd, editorial page editor, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane WA 99201.