AMW Wants You To Choose Your Favorite Hero

America's Most Wanted, television's top crime-fighting show, is once again asking the public to give special recognition to police officers, firefighters, EMTs and other first-responders who dedicate their lives to protect and serve.  

The sixth annual AMW All-Star Contest, sponsored by Sprint, kicked off today, February 3^rd, with the opening of nominations.  Any first-responder is eligible for nomination, and the process is simple: Go to AMW.com to fill out a short online form naming a first-responder and explain what makes this person an All-Star.

Voters will select eight weekly finalists, and each finalist will be profiled on America’s Most Wanted (Saturdays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT on FOX). Through online votes, the public will choose the grand-prize winner. In May, AMW Host John Walsh will present the 2010 AMW All-Star with a check for $10,000 at the NASCAR SPRINT Cup Series™ All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nominations are open at AMW.com until noon (ET) on April 3, 2010. Members of the public may vote for their favorite first responder once a day, every day. Finalist voting runs through midnight April 11^th. Grand-prize winner voting will run April 15^th through May 3^rd.

Last year, Americans selected Peoria, Arizona Detective William Weigt, as their AMW All-Star. While conducting a high-risk stop, following a drug related shooting, Weight was shot. He awoke three days later to find that he was paralyzed from the chest down. Weight bravely continues service as an investigator in the robbery unit, delivers motivational speeches and organizes fundraising events for officers killed in the line of duty.

As in previous years, thousands of police officers, firefighters, EMTs and other first responders are expected to be nominated. Each nominee is a hero, but only one will become the 2010 AMW All-Star.