Updated, 10:14 a.m.

Good morning on this wintry-wet Thursday.

This month, we asked our readers to nominate candidates for our New Yorker of the Year column. (We offered a few suggestions to get the ball rolling.) We received more than 100 submissions about model citizens who made a difference — in ways big and small — in 2016.

This week, we are highlighting a few of the exemplary (noncelebrity) neighbors you nominated. We look forward to meeting more of them in 2017. As always, if you would like to share a story, you can write to us at nytoday@nytimes.com.

Jackie-Michelle Martinez, a Strong-Willed New Yorker

When Jackie-Michelle Martinez joined the New York Fire Department in 2006, she was one of just 29 women among around 8,000 firefighters and officers.

Since then, the number of female firefighters has doubled to 58 — still a tiny fraction of the department — but it’s expected to grow, thanks to Ms. Martinez. Last year, she became the department’s first women’s outreach coordinator.