Lake County >> In 18 years, over 1750 individuals and entities have been nominated for a Stars of Lake County award, many of whom may not have been recognized otherwise. “The beautiful part to me about this particular program is that all of us have become aware of people and organizations that we didn’t know existed until they were nominated,” said Lake County Chamber of Commerce CEO Melissa Fulton. “It’s amazing how many people give up themselves and their time to help their communities.”
Take the woman who was nominated for picking up trash along Lakeshore Blvd. in Lakeport. She wasn’t with a group, she was just gathering litter on her own, in order to make her home a nicer place to live.
She’s just one of any number of commendable residents. And with the annual Stars of Lake County Awards drawing near, now is the time to get in nominations. Anyone can make a nomination and any community member is eligible for an award. There are 21 categories spanning everything from humanitarian of the year to youth advocate to local hero of the year.
Stars of Lake County began in 1998 by Judi Pollace, who was relatively new to the community. In her previous residence, she was involved in planning a similar event. She thought it was just the thing Lake County needed, so she approached the Chamber of Commerce board of directors. They jumped at the opportunity.
That first year there were roughly a dozen categories. Almost two decades later and that number has nearly doubled, in part due to suggestions from the community, like best idea, which was proposed by Kathy Fowler. The Chamber has also expanded on categories. Today there are separate awards for best female and male student, but back in 1998 it was all one category — best student. It’s the same for artists. Now amateur and professional artists are not nominated together, but they used to be.
“It’s recognizing people who are in the background, who do these things because they want to contribute,” said Fulton. “There are a lot of needs in this community that are met by volunteers and businesses.”
Once all the nominations are in, the selection committee receives a large — sometimes as thick as three inches — packet with information on each of the nominees. They discuss the individuals, businesses and organizations before them, then cast blind ballots for their choices.
During this process the selection committee also picks out exemplary members of the community who they feel deserve a special kind of recognition. This is the Spirit of Lake County award, and it’s the only category not open for public nominations.
Votes are tallied by someone not on the committee, and many times no one knows just who is going to win until the envelopes are opened on stage — kind of like the Oscars.
That’s not the only similarity Stars of Lake County has to the prestigious film awards — the same company who makes the gold Oscar statues makes the awards presented to recipients at the Soper Reese Theatre every year. The Chamber of Commerce was unaware of the connection until after they’d picked out the award, but it certainly makes a statement.
The program has been occurring for almost two decades, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Each year the community packs the house as awards are handed out to those most deserving. “There are so many who, they don’t do what they do for recognition, they do it because it comes from their hearts. They do it because they love their community,” Fulton said. “I think that’s the reason that people gave embraced the program.”
Stars of Lake County is very much a group effort, with every category sponsored by a local entity, many that have been with the program since the beginning. In addition to sponsoring the Spirit of Lake County, Congressman Mike Thompson gives certificates to each and every recipient.
The deadline for nominations is January 6. Nominations forms are available at the Lake County Chamber of Commerce office at 875 Lakeport Blv. in Lakeport at Vista Point.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
