OK, I was warned but I let bad weather and an earlier commitment get in the way and I missed the Ballard Community Service Awards session last week. I had no idea that this would be one of the events of the year.

There were a lot, like a real lot of awards. Here we alter the script for the event to get as many names in as we can in the space allowed.

The Oz Award for extraordinary service behind the scenes went to three people. Jenny Heins who coordinated Sustainable Ballard's third annual festival which was the biggest to date and showcased the new Ballard Commons Park as a great venue for community events. Sam Star served on the Groundswell Northwest board for the past six years and worked tirelessly to bring the sports field behind Salmon Bay School into new life, and is a key player in the greening of Ballard by organizing the planting of more than 800 trees in Ballard. Third winner was Clay Bean who put significant amount of time and effort into gathering local support for re-instating transit service on Seaview Avenue.

Then there was the Burning a Candle at Both Ends Award, given for tremendous investments of volunteer time for valuable causes. Again three winners. Peter Goddu is a Ballard attorney, active with the Ballard Chamber of Commerce and served on the ill-fated Seattle Monorail Board. He led the effort to establish the 24th Avenue Street End and Dock as our next major public asset. Mary Hurley, who owns Best Regards Gifts on Market Street. She is the current president of the Ballard District Council representing the Ballard Merchants Association and works tirelessly on a host of local causes including public safety, transportation, Seafoodfest, and other community special events. Jim Jensen is one of the original founders of Groundswell Northwest and his fingerprints can be found on numerous community level projects here in Ballard. Jim is a relentless promoter of environmental projects and promoting green and open spaces in our community.

How about the Push Pin Award for putting Ballard on the map? Crystal Carlson, co-owner with Bob Carlson of the Ballard Great Harvest Bread Company which has been voted as Ballard's Best Bakery for three years in a row. Crystal is an innovative businessperson who has raised her family here in Ballard and is also created with the now very famous tee shirt: "If you cannot find it in Ballard, you don't need it." The next winner is Sustainable Ballard, an energetic Ballard group that is doing creative things to help make Ballard a great place. Final winner is Dan Freeman for leading the way toward a healthier planet by making sure we have biodiesel in the Seattle area. Michelle Rosantha who managed this year's highly successful Ballard Seafoodfest and serves on the Ballard District Council representing the Ballard Chamber of Commerce. Vic Opperman is the squeaky wheel behind many great projects. Vic urged her neighbors to join her in founding non-profit Sustainable Ballard and is currently working on a Ballard Community OnLine Kiosk, an innovative one source website for the town of Ballard.

The Bull By the Horns Award was given for relentless leadership in the face of daunting challenges went to Warren Aakervik, owner of Ballard Oil and warrior/defender of Ballard's industrial businesses and local jobs. It also went to David Folweiler who has taken the lead in creating the newest park in Ballard at the corner of 63rd and 17th. Jack Seifert and wife Cinny own Crown Hill Therapeutic Massage and have done much to eradicate graffiti and other blight. Catherine Weatbrook is the spark plug behind Community and Tenants of Crown Hill and has worked tirelessly to develop an exciting public amenity on property, which was formerly the Crown Hill Elementary School. Cinny Burrell is leading the charge to develop a plan, which will brand the Crown Hill as a destination business center. Pastor Rich Lang is honored for activism, non-violence, social consciousness, passion and insistence on justice for all. Whittier Heights (George Irwin, Kelly Saulsbury, Hugh Kelso, Andrea Faste) along with many supporters have stalled the development of a high volume gas station at NW 83rd & 15th NW. Dianna Simmonds and a core group of volunteers did a tremendous job raising funds to renovate Soundview Playground, and the new playground behind North Beach elementary school.

The Good Impressionist Award for outstanding artistic achievements went to Dionne Haroutunian. for constantly promoting Ballard artists and promoting the cause of the arts in Ballard, and to Renee Pound for promoting business activity in downtown Ballard, and who led an effort to create the 911 globes produced by local glass artists which raised public awareness to remember the events of 9/11/01.

The Thing Award for amazing helping hands reaching out to others, went to Andrea Faste who has been involved in many groups, projects and causes in Ballard and Beyond. Darrell and Beth Kirk have made contributions in donating sales of his Chinese/Tibetan photography artwork for scholarships for disadvantaged/disabled community college students. Bridget Smith has presented the need to design with sustainability in mind. Mary and Jim Wong were awarded, too, along with Judy Sanderman and Dennis Wilkins, a "retired" couple whose travels to Ethiopia two years ago started them on a new journey they call Project Ethiopia for which they have raised over $15,000 to benefit underdeveloped rural areas.

The Above and Beyond the Call Award for public service beyond our wildest dreams went to Marty Brennan. It was also presented to Beth Miller, sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Ballard," she is long-time executive director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce. Beth and her husband Sam are Ballard residents (somewhat on the fringe). The award also went to Bob Baines, Seattle Parks Department Senior Gardener, who utilizes parks department grounds as a means of demonstrating sustainable gardening practices to the community. The award also goes to Rudy McCoy, who is a unique personality and one of our identifiable treasures here in Ballard.

Then there is the Go TEAM! GO! Award for remarkable group endeavors. It goes to Ballard peace activists Marylee Smith and Jean Darcy. Since 2002, Ballard Peace Activists have been holding an on-going peace and justice vigil and they are currently working with community members on possibilities of a Ballard Homeless Shelter and Resource Center. The award also went to the 14th Avenue Northwest Visioning Project for bringing the community together with fun community events, street clean-ups, and creating a vision for a one-mile stretch of 14th Ave NW from Ballard High School south to the Ship Canal. Another winner was Ballard Commons (Davidya Kasperzyk, Stephen Lundgren, Beth Miller) for representing the Ballard community and helping shepherd the plans to build Ballard Commons Park and to Ballard Youth Soccer.

Keepers of the Flame Award, for preserving our cultural heritage goes to Marianne Forssblad who has been executive director of the Nordic Heritage Museum for 27 years. Ozzie Kvithammer, a long-time bank officer, most recently with our own Viking Bank, is a loud voice from Ballard and from Seattle's Nordic community insisting that we be faithful to our heritage.

The Hall of Fame Award for absolute devotion to our community over the years goes to Jody Grauge Haug of the Green Party who has spent her life knitting the community together with her wisdom and common sense approach to life. Another winner is Lillian Riley, who has lived in Ballard for 50 years and has been deeply involved in improving schools and parks. In the mid-80s, she and a friend created and ran a Night School in the old James Monroe middle school building. In the early 1990s, Lillian and a small group of dedicated volunteers founded Groundswell NW and created Webster Park. Kay Ogren and husband Burke pioneered their Burke's Caf/ on Ballard Avenue in the early 80's which became an institution until Kay and Burke sold the business and are now watching the eagles at Deception Pass. Kay was instrumental in organizing Arts Ballard, creating the Ballard Art Walk, and a host of other civic activities including serving as president of the Ballard District Council for two years.

Those are the awards to even greater people who make Ballard the special part of Seattle that it is. Next year we will be on hand to help pass out the awards and tell you who these community leaders are.

Jack Mayne may be reached at jmayne@robinsonnews.com or 783.1244.