On a wall at the City of Issaquah council chambers on East Sunset Way hangs a board decorated with 27 gold plaques.

The plaques bear a list of names, names that are synonymous with the recent history of the city, men and women who have become known as remarkable contributors to the lives of the people that live here.

That board is a record of the Issaquah Hall of Fame, and includes such names as the inaugural winners Bob Catterall and E.O. Neuman, back in 1987, and Linda Ruehle, John Williams, Greg Spranger and Skip Rowley in more recent times.

To that famous list will soon be added the names of Barb Justice and Judd Kirk, after the two Issaquah residents were recognized for their long history of community service at the annual Community Awards Banquet two weeks ago.

Around an enormous cake and jugs of cold lemonade, family and friends of Justice and Kirk joined councillors and city staff at a reception at the council chambers ahead of the regular council meeting on Monday evening, city business put on hold for a few moments to give credit where credit is due.

A number of previous inductees, including Rowley, and Marty Budzius, were on hand to see the pair officially inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Former Chamber president Kirk is credited as being the man who first saw the vision of a village in the Issaquah Highlands.

In recognition of his promotion of the highlands project as a model of sustainable building and environmental conservation, Kirk Park was named after him.

He has worked extensively with the City and chamber to strengthen Issaquah’s economic base, and also served on the City’s Economic Vitality Task Force.

Justice is best known for her enduring commitment to the Issaquah Trolley project, which began as an idea among volunteers and now, thanks to her perseverance, promises to contribute enormously to the development of tourism and social life in the city.

She has spent more than 10 years successfully obtaining funding for the trolley, and is a long time member and officer of the Issaquah Historical Society.

As a committed volunteer, Justice continues to bring her passion to projects and events for a number of organizations, including Kiwanis, Chamber, her homeowner’s association, not to mention the Historical Society and the Trolley Committee.

Justice is also a Key Club advisor, tutor for the Kiwanis young reader program and creator of holiday baskets for needy families.

In Justice and Kirk we see the two very different ways in which the people of cities like Issaquah can distinguish themselves.

The Reporter joins the City of Issaquah in congratulating them on this fine honor.