The deadline for Delridge Unsung Hero nominations was March 23 and one of the event co-chairs, Mike Shilley from the Delridge Neighborhood District Council, said he was amazed by the response and quality of nominations, 27 people in all.

“There were some great nominations and you don’t realize what people are out there doing (in Delridge neighborhoods),” Shilley said. “We were blown away by the response.”

Shilley said DNDC plans to host an Unsung Heroes Banquet on April 20th and will invite all 27 nominees to the celebration, not just the top eight as originally planned.

“We want to bring them all in, recognize all of them, and the winner will be nominated for the Jefferson Award (a national award recognizing stars in public service),” he said.

Shilley said the banquet is not just about eating some food and celebrating the nominees, but hopefully providing an opportunity to build momentum, “to hear from everybody and start a conversation.”

“It is honoring these people who put all this time in, and some of them several years – six to seven years with some of these people - and they have never been recognized,” he said. “Bringing them together and honoring them is what we want to do, and then … getting people to know each other and finding out each others passions and find out what they really want to do with the neighborhood.”

The event happens the day before Gathering of Neighbors and Shilley said organizers are still looking to raise funds for the banquet, including a sponsor.

If you or your business is interested in helping DNDC make the Unsung Heroes Banquet a success, Contact Mike Shilley at Michael.j.shilley@q.com.