Approximately 500 community members came out to watch the 12th annual SAMMI Awards celebration March 15 at Eastridge Church.

The event, which for the first time didn’t focus on individual winners, honored 40 nominees across four categories.

“These changes represent the goal of the Foundation to ensure that each honoree’s volunteer work is valued and serves as an inspiration for others to get involved in our community,” said Kristina Williams, executive director of the SAMMI Awards Foundation.

The evening started with a performance by the Eastlake High School drumline, followed by video presentation of each category’s honorees.

The celebration, which was hosted by Dawn and John Sanders, also featured performances by the Blackwell Elementary School Choir, pianist Richard Baron, rock band Costa Bear and vocalist Michele Dusche.

“I believe our vision was realized this year as we really returned to our ‘core value’ of telling stories and providing an inspirational event to hopefully motivate others to answer the call to volunteer,” said Kathy Anderson, SAMMI Awards president.

Listed below are all the 2013 winners:

Circle of Service: Lynn Banki, Cyn Baumert, Nicky Beedle, Jane Dulski, Susan Evans, Chris Gentes, Mahbubul Islam, Tom Kent-Dobias, Sandy Marshall, Daphne Robinson, Sally Rusk, Bruce Salmon, Dave Sanford, Harry Shedd, Mary Trask, Steve VanWambeck and Zoe Vierling-Coulter

Community Spirit: Sally Bastine, Sarah Bundy, Larry Crandall, Mayten (May) Gross & Karin House, David Hall, Nolen Holcomb, Jill Loveland, Bob Trask, Tom Wage and Marla Zylstra

Courage: Pam Austin (Posthumous), Kira Hanson and Jenean Hatlelid

Youth Spirit: Adithti Addepalli, Lauren Christian, Tinuola Dada, Prabha Dublish, Kaylee Hansen, Teddy Hung, Arjun Kumar, Amanda Levenson, Kelsey Nyce and Jerome Siangco