LAKE COUNTY – The deadline for nominations for the 2010 Stars of Lake County Community Awards Program is drawing near – it's at 5 p.m. this Friday, March 12.

Entries must be postmarked by that date.

Currently there are more than 30 nominations with the following categories having none: large business of the year; student of the year-male; arts award amateur; arts award professional and local hero. Several categories have only one nomination. Nomination forms are available at www.lakecochamber.com .

 

 

They usually are inundated with nominations on the last couple of days and then it's a mad scramble to obtain complete information on every nominee, said Jan Parkinson, events chair for the Lake County Chamber. The most difficult process is making certain that the Stars Selection Committee has as much detail as possible for every nominee.

 

 

Upon receipt of a nomination, a letter is sent from the chamber office informing the nominee and requesting a photo be taken at the chamber office. The photos are then incorporated into a video by Tracy Medina and the video plays during the reception and dinner at the Stars Awards. The video shows all the nominees and names the sponsor for every category.

Sponsors play a huge part in bringing Stars to fruition every year, said Armand Pauly, president-elect of the Chamber. Without the sponsors, we would not be able to present this program every year. Sponsors to date are the Lake County Record-Bee, McDonald's Lakeport, North Lake Medical Pharmacy, Foods Etc., Ruzicka Engineering, Lake County Land Trust and Congressman Mike Thompson.

 

 

The Tallman Hotel will be the meeting location for the Selection Committee as they come together to discuss and vote on those who will receive the Star Award in each category. It's a dedicated group of volunteers who make up the Selection Committee, representing communities around Lake County. They are presented with a book of all nominations and given about one week to review all the documentation, coming together for about 4-5 hours to make their selections.

 

 

The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 10, at Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino in Nice.

The reception will begin at 5 p.m., at which time they will be entertained by a past Star recipient, David Neft, who has volunteered his wonderful keyboard talents for every year of this program.

Stars nominees, their friends and family will gather for a special evening of acknowledgment which includes a gourmet dinner, the awards ceremony and, new this year, dancing following the awards ceremony.

This is an opportunity for everyone in Lake County to show their appreciation for these wonderful individuals, organizations and businesses that make Lake County the very special place it is.

This year's nominees may purchase two tickets at $50 each. All other tickets for the awards ceremony are $60 per person.

Tickets for nominees only are available through March 22; tickets for the general public will go on sale March 23.

For more information, call the Lake County Chamber at 707-263-5092.

Nominees to date include the following.

MAN OF THE YEAR

1. Andy Weiss, Lakeport

2. Kyle A. Reams, Lucerne

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

1. Mildred Pickersgill, Lakeport

LARGE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

No entries to date.

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

1. Pogo’s Pizza, Kelseyville

2. A&B Collision, Clearlake

3. Featherbed Railroad B&B, Nice

4. Quail Run Fitness, Lakeport

5. Kelsey Creek Coffee, Lakeport

YOUTH ADVOCATE/VOLUNTEER

1. Peggy Alexander, Clearlake

2. Darren Brookshire, Hidden Valley Lake

YOUTH ADVOCATE/PROFESSIONAL

1. Brian Sumpter, Lakeport

2. Barbara Clark, Lakeport

STUDENT OF THE YEAR-Male

No entries to date.

STUDENT OF THE YEAR-Female

1. Cylinda Neidenbach, Kelseyville

2. Tenae Stewart, Middletown

AGRICULTURE AWARD

1. Yerba Santa Goat Dairy, Lakeport

2. Renker Farms, Lakeport

ARTS AWARD/AMATEUR

No entries to date.

ARTS AWARD/PROFESSIONAL

No entries to date.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

1. Denise Johnson, Kelseyville

2. Carol Thorn, Lakeport

MARLA RUZICKA HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR

1. Richard Birk, Hidden Valley Lake

SENIOR OF THE YEAR

1. Mrs. Freda Mohr, Lakeport

2. Jean Welch, Lakeport

ORGANIZATION-VOLUNTEER

1. Lake County Community Radio, Lakeport

2. Soroptimist International of Clear Lake, Clearlake

3. L.E.E.F., Lakeport

4. Mt. Konocti Facilitation, Lakeport

ORGANIZATION-NONPROFIT

1. New Beginnings, Clearlake

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

1. Audrey Lenore Keithly Murphy, RN, (Posthumously)

2. Betty Irwin, Lakeport

3. Thomas Hewlett, DDS, Clearlake

LOCAL HERO OF THE YEAR

No entries to date.

NEW BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

1. LuLu’s Ice Cream & Desserts, Kelseyville

2. Lyndall’s Sport Stop Grill, Kelseyville

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

1. Terry Knight, Lakeport