STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Advance recently asked readers to nominate 10 individuals for our first Inspirational Islander contest of 2016.

The votes have been tallied and the results are in...

Brandon Williams, a 13-year-old autistic boy from Great Kills, who saved a fellow student's life from choking in November, has been named the inspirational Staten Islander for the month of January.

Williams received 733 (42.6 percent) of the 1,720 total votes cast in the Advance's latest poll.

Coming in second place was Ilmi Kaziu, a 25-year-old from Willowbrook, who made a full recovery after being placed in a medically induced coma.

Third place was James D'Angelo of Elm Park, owner of Three J's Service Corp., who is widely known as a Good Samaritan, helping those in need around the community.

"I would like to nominate Brandon Williams for the inspirational Staten Islander award," said Allison Darby in her submission email. "I have no relations to Brandon, but I could not help to smile when I read the story about his heroic act.

"Not only did Brandon administer the Heimlich Maneuver, but he did it successfully and saved a life doing so. I truly believe he deserves this award and should be honored for his actions," she said.

"It was so nice to read a positive story about a Great Kills teenager. Most adults wouldn't even know what to do in a situation like this."

An upcoming profile will feature Williams and provide an update on how life has been since becoming a celebrity for his heroics.

NOMINATE AN ISLANDER

The Advance continues to search, with help from the community, for a Staten Island figure to highlight and honor each month for his or her contributions to this borough.

After all the names are submitted, nominees will be selected -- followed by an online vote to determine the winner.

From there, the top nominee will be profiled in the Staten Island Advance newspaper and on SILive.com, but we need your help finding those special people to feature!

We have decided to announce the nominees in smaller groups over the coming months so multiple people can be highlighted.

If you know someone you would like to nominate, send the information to Sdimaio@siadvance.com. You can nominate anyone -- child or adult -- who is a Staten Island resident.

Be sure to include the person's full name, neighborhood and contact information -- preferably a phone number and email address. In addition, include your name, address and phone number for verification purposes.

While some people may receive more than one nomination, only one letter will be selected as the nominee's submission.

So submit your nominations today!

For those who have nominated individuals in the past and have yet to see their names appear on SILive.com, feel free to re-submit your previous entries.