LAKE COUNTY – On Friday, the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce released the final list of nominees for this year's Stars of Lake County awards.

The 12^th annual event will take place on March 22 at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.

Chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton reported that the community submitted a total of 127 nominations.

Thirty-six hours prior to the Feb. 27 deadline, the chamber had received only 61 nominations, but the public came through again, said Lakeport Regional Chamber President Jan Parkinson.

The Stars Selection Committee will meet on March 12 to discuss and cast ballots on all the categories. Their books of nominations were delivered on Thursday and Friday of this week.

The members of the Selection Committee will commit many hours of reading to review a 3-inch-thick book of nominations and then spend around five hours at the March 12 meeting to arrive at their decisions.

The actual recipients are not made public until March 22, when they are announced from the stage beginning at 7 p.m. following the dinner.

Committee members are Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck; Clearlake City Council member Judy Thein; Gloria Flaherty, executive director, Lake Family Resource Center; Margaret Medeiros, president, Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Business Association; District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith; Trena Pauly, Polestar Computers, Kelseyville; John Tomkins, Lucerne; Sandy Tucker, Langtry Estates, Middletown; Rick Hamilton, RAH Stuff, Middletown; Barbara Flynn, Brick Oven Pizza/Cobb Merchants, Cobb; Linda Diehl Darms, Tom's Auto/Middletown Area Merchants Association, Middletown.

“We purposefully choose people from every area of Lake County to provide as much insight into the nominees as possible, as the nominees come from every community in the County,”said Parkinson.

 

Major sponsors of the Stars of Lake County Community Awards program are Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa, the Lake County Record-Bee and the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce.

More than 30 businesses from around the county participate in this program as sponsors of category awards, without whom the program could not take place, Parkinson said.

All the nominees should have received their notification letter and dinner tickets for this event on March 22 at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa are selling very quickly. It is possible that this year will be sold out again as it has for every year in the past, the chamber reported.

Dinner tickets are $50/person and can be purchased by calling 263-5092 or stopping by the chamber at 875 Lakeport Blvd., Vista Point Visitor Center in Lakeport.

Final list: Nominees for Stars of Lake County 2009

MAN OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Lake County Record-Bee

1. Andy Weiss, Lakeport

2. Duane Furman, Lakeport

3. Willie Sapeta, Clearlake

4. Robert L. DeWitt Jr., Kelseyville

5. Ross A. Christensen, Clearlake Oaks

6. Kevin Burke, Lakeport

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Northlake Medical Pharmacy

1. Yvonne Cox, Nice

2. Linda Fergusson, Hidden Valley Lake

3. Cheryl Robbins, Lakeport

4. Shirley Crawford, Kelseyville

5. Tammi Silva, Lakeport

6. Elizabeth Larson, Lucerne

7. Cathy Froio, Lakeport

8. Dr. Linda Mulligan, Lakeport

9. Georgina Lehne, Middletown

10. Linda Meyers, Clearlake Park

LARGE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Bruno’s Shop Smart

1. Umpqua Bank, Lakeport and Kelseyville

2. Meadowood Nursing Center, Clearlake

3. Northcoast Supportability, Lakeport

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Food’s Etc.

1. Ting's Thai Kitchen, Hidden Valley Lake

2. Lake Event Design, Lakeport

3. Solo Flight Academy, Lakeport

4. Middletown Florist, Middletown

5. Studebaker’s Coffee House & Deli, Kelseyville

6. Marie’s Lakeshore Feed, Clearlake

7. McAtee’s Marine Repair, Lakeport

8. Lakeport Transmission, Lakeport

9. Mugshots Expresso, Hidden Valley

10. Dewey & Sons, Lakeport

11. Loch Lomond Roadhouse, Loch Lomond

12. Shed Horn Cellars, Middletown

13. DJ Dre’ Kutter, DJ & Karaoke Entertainment, Clearlake

14. Perlz Beads & Yarn, Kelseyville

15. Molly Brennan's, Lakeport

YOUTH ADVOCATE – VOLUNTEER

Sponsored by Polestar Computers

1. Lorna Sue Sides, Kelseyville

2. Kaj and Else Ahlmann, Lower Lake

3. Shel Bush, Clearlake

4. Dave and Nicole Figuera, Lakeport

5. Karen Hayes, Lower Lake

YOUTH ADVOCATE – PROFESSIONAL

Sponsored by Umpqua Bank

1. Kathleen Doherty, Lakeport

2. Ron and Patti Raetz, Upper Lake

3. Michy Brown, Lucerne

4. Ana Santana, Clearlake

5. Chuck Mansell, Lakeport

6. Susan Parker, Kelseyville

7. Heidi Haskett, Kelseyville

8. Tom Aiken, Kelseyville

STUDENT OF THE YEAR – MALE

Sponsored by McDonald’s-Lakeport

1. Benjamin Mullin, Lucerne

2. James Green, Kelseyville

3. Anthony Tavares, Lower Lake

4. Nicholas Valdivinos, Hidden Valley Lake

5. Academic Decathlon Team, Upper Lake

STUDENT OF THE YEAR – FEMALE

Sponsored by Piedmont Lumber

1. Amanda Mueller, Kelseyville

2. Emmalena Illia, Clearlake Park

3. Stephanie Tregea, Upper Lake

4. Karin Elaine Vandraiss, Kelseyville

5. Apryl Comstock, Lakeport

6. Kelsey Welton, Hidden Valley Lake

7. Kayla Wood, Middletown

8. Kimberly Walker, Lower Lake

9. Nycole Copping, Lakeport

10. Freza Paro, Middletown

11. Alma Martinez, Clearlake

12. Thonyoon Chao, Upper Lake

AGRICULTURE AWARD

Sponsored by Gossett Alarm

1. Lake County Community Co-Op, Clearlake

2. Barrett Farms, Finley

3. Shannon Ranches, Clearlake Oaks

ARTS AWARD/AMATEUR

Sponsored by Shannon Ridge Winery & Vineyards

1. Patsy Mitchell, Kelseyville

2. Kelseyville Art Group, Kelseyville

3. Konocti Artists, Kelseyville

4. Alice Stone, Lakeport

ARTS AWARD/PROFESSIONAL

Sponsored by Jonas Heating & Cooling

1. Bernadette and Suzanne Alverio, Middletown

2. Gail Salituri, Kelseyville

3. John Parkinson, Lakeport

4. The Lost Boys, Lakeport

5. George Waterstraat, Kelseyville

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Barry Parkinson, Attorney at Law

1. Dick Michaels, Kelseyville

2. Bill and Carolyn Tobin, Middletown

3. Myra Wendt, Lakeport; Pat Norcio, Lakeport; Bill Knoll, Lakeport; Beth Truman-Nunes, Clearlake Oaks; Barbara Lee, Lower Lake.

4. Brondell Locke Jr., Clearlake Oaks

5. Raymond A. Lanfear, Lucerne

6. Margaret Eutenier, Kelseyville

7. Bill Edmunds, Clearlake

MARLA RUZICKA HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Cliff and Nancy Ruzicka

1. Faith Hornby, Lakeport

2. Mina Pierce, Clearlake Oaks

3. Allen and Donna Thomas, Lakeport

4. Mark Shapiro, MD, Clearlake

SENIOR OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by WestAmerica Bank

1. Edward McDonald, Lakeport

2. Donald Stewart, Finley

3. Treva Ryan, Nice

4. Rita Doyle, Clearlake

BEST IDEA OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Kathy Fowler Auto Dealerships

1. Creative Expressions-Mary McMillan, Kelseyville

2. Ageless Dream Day-Orchard Park Assisted Living, Clearlake

3. Mt. Konocti Acquisition, Lakeport

4. “It’s Never Too Late to Be Remembered,” Kelseyville

ORGANIZATION – VOLUNTEER

Sponsored by Strong Financial Network

1. Operation Tango Mike, Kelseyville

2. Soroptimist International of Clear Lake, Clearlake

3. KPFZ Radio, Lakeport

4. Interact Club of Middletown High School, Middletown

5. VFW Post 2015, Lakeport

6. The Acme Foundation, Cobb

7. Lake County Milers, Middletown

ORGANIZATION – NONPROFIT

Sponsored by Rural Communities Housing Development Corp.

1. Wiloth Equine Therapy and Riding Center, Lower Lake

2. People Services Inc., Lakeport

3. Adult Day Care/Respite Lake County, Kelseyville

4. Lake County Child Care Planning Council, Lower Lake

5. Healing Rooms of Lake County, Clearlake

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT – WOMAN

Sponsored by Lakeview Market & Deli

1. Dr. Frances Crary, Lakeport

2. Pamela Phillips, Nice

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT – MAN

Sponsored by Orchard Park Assisted Living & Memory Care

1. Ed Robey, Lower Lake

2. Father Phillip Ryan, Lakeport

HERO OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by U. S. Representative Mike Thompson

1. Mike Botto, Clearlake

2. Gavin Wells, Lakeport

3, Lance Corporal Ivan Wilson (Posthumous)

4. Walt Foster, Clearlake

NEW BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Kelseyville Lumber

1. Harbor Village Artists, Lucerne

2. Lake County Wine Studio, Upper Lake

3. Chic Le Chef, Hidden Valley Lake

4. Jimmy’s Deli, Lakeport

5. Furry Tail's Pet Boutique, Kelseyville

6. Clear Lake Bed & Breakfast, Lakeport

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

Sponsored by Lake County Land Trust

1. Leona Butts, Clearlake Oaks

2. Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club, Lakeport

3. Dwight Holford, Middletown

4. Kim Clymire, Lakeport

5. Peter Windrem, Lakeport

6. Greg Giusti, Lakeport

{mos_sb_discuss:2}