Pacific Palisades Community Council Seeks Citizen of the Year, Golden Sparkplug Award Nominations

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

The Pacific Palisades Community Council is now accepting nominations for its 2022 Citizen of the Year and Golden Sparkplug Awards, which are slated to be presented at the PPCC Awards Celebration and Holiday Meeting on December 8 at Temescal Gateway Park.

The Citizen of the Year Award is designed to honor “long-term, steady, reliable and continuing outstanding volunteer service,” in addition to a “recent extraordinary accomplishment” by someone which resulted in “substantial benefit to the Palisades community at large,” according to information shared by PPCC.

The recipient of the Citizen of the Year Award must be an adult resident of the Palisades at the time of the accomplishment and long-term services.

In 2021, the awards ceremony, which, in a typical year, is held in person, took place in a hybrid fashion, with award winners and a small group at Bel-Air Bay Club, with others tuning in via Zoom. Chris Spitz was named Citizen of the Year during the ceremony.

“Chris Spitz is the textbook definition of a community activist and leader,” then-PPCC Vice-Chair David Kaplan said while presenting the award to Spitz. “Over the past 10 years, she has been chair of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, secretary of the PPCC for several terms, and chair and member of numerous committees.”

Golden Sparkplug Awards honor citizens who “ignite original ideas and projects into community action that benefit Palisadians throughout the community,” according to PPCC.

“The project must have been initiated, in progress or completed during the current or prior calendar year,” PPCC continued. “Adults and youth are both eligible, and must either reside in, own real property in or operated a business in the Palisades at the time the services were rendered.”

In 2021, Five Golden Sparkplug Awards were doled out to Ingrid Steinberg, Krishna Thangavelu, Matthew Rodman, Scott Cullen and Rick McGeagh.

For both awards, the services, accomplishment or project must be voluntary—not related to nor a beneficial outcome of the nominee’s business, profession or occupation.

“Neither award can be given to PPCC board members based on services directly related to their responsibilities as board members,” according to the statement, “although such services may be considered as a qualifying factor in the case of nominees for the Citizen Award. The award recipients are based on the quality of work and benefits achieved, not the quantity of nominations.”

Not bestowed every year, Pride of the Palisades is an award given from time to time—only in exceptional circumstances, as determined by the Awards Selection Committee. Nominations for Pride of the Palisades honors are not sought from the public.

The most recent Pride of the Palisades honor was given to then-PPCC Chair George Wolfberg in 2019 before his passing in 2020, following Arnie Wishnick’s honor the year prior.

Nominations for Citizen of the Year and Golden Sparkplugs must be submitted via email to info@pacpalicc.org by October 31 at 9 p.m.

For more information, including a complete set of guidelines, visit pacpalicc.org/index.php/awards-guidelines.