My head is swelling, my heart is bursting.
As the Executive Director of the SAMMI Awards I have received so much positive feed back after the ceremony last Saturday that I can hardly believe it.
Nearly everything went off without a hitch — the video worked, after one scary hiccup, the emcees, Connie Walsworth and Mark Reilly, hit all their cues and were engaging.
No one fell off the stage, except Deb Sogge, the Business Award winner, lost her shoe on the way up to the stage.
The stories told last Saturday night were truly amazing. We laughed, we cried, we were inspired.
The SAMMI Awards is a community effort. I, along with the SAMMI Awards Board of Directors, want to thank all those people who share the SAMMI Awards mission of honoring those who make Sammamish the gem that it is through their unselfish contributions to the community.
First, I’d like to thank the officials at the City of Sammamish who understand that inspiration is infectious, and the more our citizens are aware of the actions of inspirational people, the more they will take action themselves.
Next our Awards Sponsors: Keybank, Sammamish Chamber of Commerce, Swedish Medical Center, Eastside Catholic School, Sammamish Rotary, Baldwin Resource Group, Friends of Youth, and Overlake Hospital.
A very special thank you goes out to the volunteers that provided expertise and manpower.
Son Michael Pham, founder of Kids Without Borders, organized the independent panel of judges.
The Lake Sammamish Chapter of the National Charity League decorated the commons and provided the food.
The SAMMIs greatly appreciates the entire Nadalin family.
David, is the official SAMMI Awards photographer, Carol helped keep track of our VIPs as the House Manager, Kaylene designed and produced the printed program, and Nichole helped at the Kid Zone at the Fourth on the Plateau.
Master Chorus Eastside provided outstanding musical interludes during the ceremony, and Denise Helppie was our wandering minstrel.
Numerous Sammamish businesses provided excellent services at reduced cost; notably Edward Bishop of AudioAmigo Video, with the help of Jay Cunningham and Cage McKinsey.
Ceremony video segments and pictures will be posted on the SAMMI Awards website at www.sammiawards.org.
Tina Thomas and the theater crew at Eastlake High School provided the amazing venue.
Last, but not least, a big thanks to the numerous volunteers who worked anonymously and behind the scenes, including the Skyline Honors Society.
A special thank you goes to Dean Benveniste, an Eastlake student who coordinated the student volunteers, Alexander James, the last volunteer to leave the venue, as well as William Dove, the announcer.
Finally, a big nod of appreciation goes to the man behind the curtain calling the show, Jon Bromberg, and his wife Jan.
People of Sammamish, thank you for making this the type of city that puts on its own awards show honoring the inspirational citizens that live among us.
Cary Young
Executive Director
SAMMI Awards
