Awards nominations are now open for Citizen of the Year and Golden Sparkplug Awards. The deadline to nominate someone is 9 p.m. October 26 (visit: pacpalicc.org). Below are the guidelines:
The Citizen of the Year award honors long-term, steady, reliable and continuing outstanding volunteer service as well as a recent extraordinary accomplishment by an individual that resulted in a substantial benefit to the Palisades community at large. The recipient must be an adult resident of the Palisades at the time the accomplishment and long-term services were rendered.
The Golden Sparkplug Award honors those citizens who ignite original ideas and projects into community action that benefit Palisadians throughout the community. The project must have been initiated, in progress or completed during the current or prior calendar year. Adults and youth are both eligible, and must either reside in, own real property in, or operate a business in the Palisades at the time the services were rendered.
The project or accomplishment must have been voluntary and not related to a nominees business, profession or occupation. Last year John Steadman was honored for his ongoing efforts to clean up the bluffs and Dede Vlietstra was selected because of her work with Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness.
Jimmy Dunne and Bob Harter were honored as Citizen of the Year for their efforts to have bocce ball courts installed at the Palisades Rec Center. The project has the money
Here are Circling the News choices for this year. We hope these choices may prompt you to come up with some names we may have forgotten:
FOR CITIZEN:
Movies in the Park founders should be honored.
- The four men who co-founded Movies in the Park and who raise money to kept this nonprofit and Palisades tradition alive, should be honored and include David Williams, Andrew Frew, Brad Lusk and John Wirth.
David Houston, one of the co-founders of the Palisades Thanksgiving Turkey Trot.
2. The people who founded the Annual Turkey Trot, seven years ago, David O’Connell and David and Dawn Houston. The money raised over the cost is donated to charity – Hearts with Hope Foundation.
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Matt Rodman (left) accepts a check from American Legion’s Kevin Niles.
Matthew Rodman has headed the Fourth of July celebration in Pacific Palisades for the past two years and has agreed to chair it again. He is a former Sparkplug winner for his efforts at traffic control at Paul Revere.
Look to the Future: And if the PPCC decides to give an award for a project in progress, like they did last year, then Lynn Hylen and Leslie Campbell should win for their work on the Palisades dog park. Not only did the two women get more than 4,000 signatures for the park, they found and secured a location in Temescal Canyon. They worked to raise money through Measure A.
Councilman Mike Bonin promised they’d have the funds, but then the funds went to other projects and the two have stayed on it, in an effort to bring this park to fruition. Help the women out by emailing Councilman Mike Bonin and tell him that the Palisades wants a dog park.
The proposed location for the Palisades Dog Park would be along Temescal Canyon Road, north of the children’s playground.
FOR SPARKPLUG:
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Scott Cullum watering plants.
Scott Cullum singlehandedly took a Bowdoin eyesore between Radcliffe and Temescal and turned it into a lush, lovely spot (see the story that ran on October 8).
- Marge Gold is serving as the Village Green president, again. The private park, an island of green surrounded by Sunset Boulevard, Swarthmore Avenue and Antioch, must continually raise money to pay for landscaping and trash removal, which is funded entirely with private contributions. She writes grant proposals and attends meetings in an effort to keep the park in great shape (she also volunteers for PAPA, securing donations for the home decorating contest and food for the VIP luncheon.)
- Eva Holberg has run the fundraising, sent out flyers and worked on the Young Artist Competition for the Palisades Symphony Orchestra for decades. She also worked with Theatre Palisades-and even though she was honored as a Citizen of the Year in 1981, but she has continued her volunteer efforts for an additional 38 years. She’s volunteered for more years than many people have been alive.
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Michelle Villemaire created the yarn bombing that honors National Woman’s History Month.
Michelle Vallemaire started yarn bombing six years ago to draw attention to National Women’s History Month. Every March she has selected famous women and through signs and yarn, drawn attention to their achievements. Her first installation was on Monument before the construction of the mall. In subsequent years, she has yarn bombed the Village Green.
- Cindy Simon, who started Dollies Making a Difference, who annually announces at the Fourth of July parade, who has helped with the majority of Villemaire’s yarn bombing installations and who annually installs an artistic creation for the YMCA Pumpkin Patch, should also be recognized for her volunteer efforts.
- The group of volunteers that refused to let a Palisades holiday tradition die should be honored. When the Chamber of Commerce said it no longer wanted to sponsor HO!HO!HO!, a community event that let children talk to Santa free, several people, led by Lisa Glantz, with Robin Weitz, Lou Kamer, Sarah Kamdar and Barbara Edelman saved the day planning a Hullabaloo in just two weeks. The volunteers are already starting to plan for the event for this December. As organizer wrote: “Nothing about Hullabaloo is commercial. There will be no signage of sponsors, simply a program thanking all those who cared to help us bring Santa on his fire truck and all the good cheer just like last year’s wonderful event.”
Parents snapped photos of their kids with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Holiday Hullabaloo.