Greetings,

Since its beginning in 1988, the Great 100 has maintained our two principle goals. The first is to honor the top 100 Registered Nurses each year in the annual Black Tie gala. This once in a life-time award, given to the "best of the best" is considered by many to be the crowning achievement to a lifetime spent caring for others! The second goal is to provide much needed scholarship funds to those who have chosen to pursue the career of nursing. Scholarships which allow not only for recipients to achieve their initial dream of becoming a Registered Nurse, but allow 'seasoned' RN's to further their education to higher levels of mastery in our beloved profession!

The 2012 on-line nominations from across the state will begin January 15. I urge each and every one of you to think of those 'great' nurses you know and to nominate them by clicking on the nominations tab to get started. Your nominations are an essential piece of telling us why the nurse you are nominating is a Great 100 nurse. Likewise I encourage you and your agency to continue the tradition of honoring past recipients through your own celebrations and acknowledgements within your organization and perhaps through monetary donations to the Great 100 to help continue the scholarship programs.

In closing I'd like to personally thank every health care provider for all you do for the citizens of your community and our great state. Caring for others is a true calling and each of you should be proud of the work you do and the service you provide to others in their time of need.

If you have any questions regarding the Great 100 please feel free contact a member of the Great 100 board. Sincerely,

Melissa W. Whittington, RN, CCRN CIC

President - Great 100, Inc