Pacific Palisades Community Council Awards Nominations Open

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Pacific Palisades Community Council is now accepting nominations for its 2023 Citizen of the Year and Golden Sparkplug awards through October 31 at 11:59 p.m.

“Pacific Palisades Community Council honors individuals who have made voluntary contributions to Pacific Palisades that benefit the community at large,” according to information shared by the organization.

Citizen of the Year is given to those whose “contributions to Pacific Palisades have been both a recent effort resulting in a substantial benefit to the community and a steady, reliable long-term history of service to the Palisades.”

Nominations should include the “nature of the extraordinary recent accomplishment done by the candidate,” as well as “the candidate’s steady, reliable, long-term service within the community.” Citizen of the Year must be an adult who resided in the Palisades at the time of the accomplishment, as well as the service.

Those who receive a Golden Sparkplug award “have an idea and effort resulting in an original contribution to Pacific Palisades that benefits the community.”

The recipient must have owned property in, resided in or operated a business in the Palisades at the time of their service, and can be any age. Nominations can be made by any organization or individual in the community, and should include the nature of the original idea, effort or project, as well as how it benefited the community.

“From time to time in special circumstances, the [Awards Selection Committee] may determine, at its discretion, that an individual who is not a resident or qualified in all respects for the Citizen Award or Sparkplug Award should receive ‘Pride of the Palisades’ recognition for extraordinary service to the Palisades community,” the PPCC statement continued.

In 2022, the Pacific Palisades Historical Society Centennial Celebration Committee was selected as Pride of the Palisades, while James Cragg, Tracey Price, Cindy Simon and Hazel Tate were honored with Golden Sparkplug awards. Michael Lanning was named Citizen of the Year in 2022.

This year’s Awards Selection Committee includes Daphne Gronich (committee chair and former Citizen of the Year), Sue Kohl (PPCC vice chair), Beth Holden Garland (PPCC secretary), Ryan Craig (PPCC primary representative in the Environment category) and Diana Daniele (PPCC 2nd alternate for Area 2).

Nominations should be sent via email to info@pacpalicc.org or president@pacpalicc.org.

Honorees will be announced at the November 9 PPCC meeting, which will take place at the Palisades Branch Library in the Community Room. PPCC’s 2023 Holiday Dinner & Awards Gala is slated to take place December 14, where the winners will be honored.

For more information, including lists of past honorees, visit mailchi.mp/pacpalicc.org/t5l2odsle0-1172502.