SAMMI Awards 2012 Finalist Profiles: Art and Courage Awards

This year the SAMMI Awards Foundation has invited Sammamish Patch to share with you the comments of finalists in its 11 award categories. We'll bring you several of these categories each day this week as we approach the March 16 awards ceremony. The public is invited to attend the ceremony at 7 p.m. at Eastridge Church on 24205 SE Issaquah Fall City Road.

The doors open at 5:30 p.m., and Girl Scout Troop 41595 has 6 girls who are doing a Silver Award Project to highlight past recipients at the Ceremony Reception. Be sure to stop by and say "Hi" to Sammamish Patch at the ceremony as well!

The foundation will be awarding the Youth Advocate Award this year in honor of Officer Stan Chapin, and is dedicating the ceremony in his memory of serving the community in so many ways. 

Here are this year's finalists, in their own words, for the Art and Courage Awards (to see finalists in the Youth Advocate, Trevor Price, and Business Awards ):

Art

One who enriches the arts by inspiring enthusiasm, promoting awareness, and helping to create a rich cultural environment in our community.

Anne Bruns: I believe everyone to be an artist. Be it clay, oil, music, drama, writing or dance, I think everyone has a “medium” for expression. I “found” clay at age 40. My goal has been to make sure that everyone is exposed to clay at a much earlier age. To that end, I have taught clay in elementary and middle schools for 20 years, first as a volunteer, then as a business, now again a volunteer. Beginning with Challenger Elementary as a volunteer /docent, I worked on their murals. I was commissioned to do murals in five other elementary schools. I taught clay classes before, during and after school and in the summer, sometimes teaching up to 1200 students a year. My oldest students are just turning 30 and they still visit their murals. I am proud to have been a part of their contribution to public art. Goal reached.

Anna Mcrae: I have lived in Sammamish for 10 years. As an artist I was naturally drawn to the art docent program at my daughters’ school – Margaret Mead Elementary – and have volunteered in that capacity as well as teaching in an after-school art program. Four years ago I took part in the Arts Commissions sponsored event – the Sammamish Art Fair, which is run by the participating artists. As the event chair for the past three years I have been instrumental in developing the growth and direction of this successful annual community arts event through collaboration with the City and the Arts Commission. Not only does the Art Fair serve as a rich arts and cultural weekend event for our residents and visitors, a wonderful artist community has been created bringing together local artists as a group, to mentor and support one another. In 2011 I was recognized by the City for some 500 volunteer hours of work for the Art Fair. I do what I do because I am passionate about bringing arts to the community and connecting local artists.

DeNell O’Neill: I am a mom of three kids, who just wanted to be an advocate for her kids at school. When I went to volunteer, I was asked to help with “ART” and things snowballed from there. For the past 11 years I have been the art mom in all my children’s classes. I went from a clueless kindergarten mom, to learning the art program, to chairing the art position at our school. I wanted parents to get involved in art at school so my aim was to make it easy and available to all parents and students. An army of volunteers sharing art ideas and talents make our program work not only for our school but many elementary schools in Sammamish. We have worked together on an “all school” projects for Rachel Carson. We have shared art lessons as well as introducing fused glass to the elementary schools. Elementary school art is solely funded by the PTSA and without parent involvement our kids will not have art. My goal was to make art to be fun, easy to learn and educational for both the parent volunteers and the kids.

R Joseph Scott: My work with the Sammamish Symphony Orchestra for the past 13 years has been both exciting and intensely rewarding. It has been deeply satisfying seeing this group grow along with the City of Sammamish, and we have become a vibrant cultural resource for this community. Our concerts bring both young and old together to enjoy a unique opportunity to experience live musical performances unsurpassed on the Eastside. All who participate are dedicated in this labor of love, and I am grateful for being a part of it.

Suzanne Tidwell: Creating with fiber has been a continuous thread for most of my life. When I see a length of material or a ball of yarn, I instantly know what it should be. For me, art is the realization of the many ideas I see in my head. The easiest way for me to work through an idea is simply to begin. I find the material of my choosing and get to work, enjoying what happens as I go along. The process can take months to complete an individual piece. The more repetitive, detailed, or intricate the pattern I invent, the more alluring the project becomes to me. The bright colors and undulating stripes I create vibrate with happiness and hopefully bring joy to observers everywhere. Every piece I make is like a stepping stone toward the next project in my imagination. My installation, "Fall Trees" along 228th Avenue in Sammamish came down December 16, 2011. Those trees were removed by the city and relocated to a wetland preserve where they will be allowed to rot in peace. 

Courage

An individual, family, or collective group who overcome great obstacles to live life to the fullest and inspire others to meet challenges head on.

Greg Barton: Asking “Why I do what I do” isn’t really applicable to me in rescuing my 90-year-old neighbor from his burning home, but I can answer “Why I did what I did”… On the evening of August 24th I came outside to find my neighbor’s home burning out of control. My neighbor, Helen Simpson, was outside calling for help and I immediately asked “Where’s Dale!?” She was frantic and wasn’t sure! The fire was blocking any possible entry from the front and the entire garage was an inferno so hot you could not approach. I went in. It took two tries of crawling through pitch black smoke and exploding windows, but I found him and got him out. We both survived. Saving Dale was not a choice. It was my responsibility. I just happened to be there, in that place, at that time, and was lucky enough to find him before it was too late. I felt an inner responsibility to do everything in my power to try to find and save him. It was incredibly lucky for both of us, nothing short of a miracle.

Court Huston: As a H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People with Epilepsy) advocate, I have the unique opportunity to travel and teach people about epilepsy. This allows me to dispel common myths about epilepsy and tell others what to do in the event they are present when someone else has a seizure. Because of the negative connotation that comes with epilepsy, or any disability really, speaking up is important. It shows people that you aren't afraid of it, and they shouldn't be either. When someone is first diagnosed with epilepsy, they are told that there are a lot of things they can't do. They can't be around water, or put their head in harm’s way, they can't do this, and they can't do that. It’s frustrating, and I know that firsthand. But if you focus on what you can do, not what you can’t you will achieve so much more and be a much more pleasant person. Epilepsy won't hold you back unless you let it.

Ali McKerlich: Paralyzed from the neck down; learning to drive a power wheelchair with my chin. How does an active mother of two and lifelong athlete get through this crazy journey? After a rare neurological disorder and over 7 months of invasive treatments and intensive rehab, I am walking again. I want to inspire and help others by sharing my story of faith, hope and positive thinking. 

Rayan Family: Our family does what we do because we know that positive attitude changes everything. While everyone goes through hard times in their lives, we know that they way you look at a situation can make all the difference. Our family lost a beloved mother and loving wife five years ago to breast cancer. Obviously, this was one of the hardest events we have had to endure. Knowing that this disease affects countless numbers of people, we decided we wanted to take part in making this omnipresent disease history. Every year, as a family we take part in Relay for Life as a Team. Whether serving as captains, chaperoning, or raising money, our family tries our hardest to take our mother’s legacy and carry forward the need to cure this horrible disease.