From the janitor who uses his own money to buy supplies to the janitor who greets every student by name, the top 10 individuals named as finalists in the 2016 Janitor of the Year contest go above and beyond every day to create a clean and healthy learning environment for students. Hosted by Cintas Corporation, the Janitor of the Year Contest shines a spotlight on those who work behind the scenes year round to make schools a clean, safe and positive place. Now it’s time for you to cast your vote for this year’s winner.

“It was hard narrowing down the hundreds of heart-warming nominations to just 10 finalists,” said Jillian Bauer, Marketing Manager, Cintas. “These 10 janitors do much more than clean their schools. They work weekends, set up for dances, encourage students to learn, provide school supplies and much more. Their selfless acts have a profound impact on children, teachers, faculty and the community.”

The 2016 Janitor of the Year will receive a $5,000 cash prize along with $5,000 in products and services for his or her school from Cintas and Rubbermaid Commercial Products– not to mention bragging rights. A $500 cash prize will be awarded to each of the remaining nine finalists.

After receiving nearly 630 nominations, the top 10 finalists include:

1.      Saeed Amin – Robinson Elementary School (Beloit, Wis.)

2.      Charles “Chuck” Arvin – Monocacy Middle School (Frederick, Md.)

3.      Elisa V. Bridges – Model Elementary School (Rome, Ga.)

4.      Keith Ciesielczyk – Midview Middle School (Grafton, Ohio)

5.      Andre Hearn – Detroit Cristo Rey High School (Detroit)

6.      Louis “Bo” James IV – duPont Manual High School (Louisville, Ky.)

7.      Jerome Lewis – Crestline Elementary School (Mountain Brook, Ala.)

8.      Enrique Mendez – J.L. Long Middle School (Dallas)

9.      Jerry Ottosen – Liberty High School (Spangle, Wash.)

10.     Bill Sanders – Wright Brothers Elementary School (Huber Heights, Ohio)

To read more about the finalists and cast your vote, please visit www.cintas.com/JOTY. Voting will be open through Friday, April 15. Visitors to the site can cast one vote per day.