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. Sponsored by Cintas Corporation, the award shines light on custodial workers that go above and beyond to create a clean and healthy learning environment for students and staff working in schools across the country.

The contest has been narrowed down from nearly 630 entries, to just the top 10. These 10 are fighting for the honor of Janitor of the Year, as well as the $5,000 cash prize and $5,000 in products and services for his or her school from Cintas and Rubbermaid Commercial Products. (A $500 cash prize will be awarded to each of the remaining nine finalists.)

That said, each of the finalists have begun campaigning, spreading the word through local media outlets.

1.      Saeed Amin – Robinson Elementary School (Beloit, Wis.) - See more about Saeed from Channel3000.com.

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

3.      Elisa V. Bridges – Model Elementary School (Rome, Ga.) - See more about Elisa from WSB-TV Atlanta.

4.      Keith Ciesielczyk – Midview Middle School (Grafton, Ohio) - See more about Keith from The Chronicle-Telegram.

5.      Andre Hearn – Detroit Cristo Rey High School (Detroit) - See more about Andre from CBS Detroit.

6.      Louis “Bo” James IV – duPont Manual High School (Louisville, Ky.) - See more about Bo from WLKY.com.

7.      Jerome Lewis – Crestline Elementary School (Mountain Brook, Ala.) - See more about Jerome from Village Living.

8.      Enrique Mendez – J.L. Long Middle School (Dallas) - See more about Enrique from The Dallas Morning News.

9.      Jerry Ottosen – Liberty High School (Spangle, Wash.) - See more about Jerry from KREM.com.

10.     Bill Sanders – Wright Brothers Elementary School (Huber Heights, Ohio) - See more about Bill from WHIO.com.

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