Meridian Honors Its 2012 Neighborhood Stars

Here is one thing I believe we can all agree - everyone wants to have good neighbors. Good neighbors can make your home life more enjoyable and increase the safety, vitality, and appearance of your neighborhood. Whether you live in a townhouse, condo, apartment or single family home it is proven, the best way to have good neighbors is to be a good neighbor.

On Wednesday evening, we have the privilege of honoring a number of Meridian residents and businesses with our Neighborhood Star Awards in a brief public ceremony at Meridian City Hall. These are local residents/businesses who have been nominated because they truly epitomize what it means to be a “good neighbor.”

The annual awards are the City of Meridian’s way of recognizing citizens who are exceptionally committed to preserving, maintaining, and improving the quality of life and safety in their neighborhoods and our community. Meridian is recognized for being a “Best Place” because of people like these who add character to our community.

These unsung heroes have each, in their own way, shown unusually strong dedication to their neighbors, neighborhoods, and community, and are deserving of our appreciation and recognition. We have some great nominees for this year’s 2012 Neighborhood Star Award and in my book they are all winners. I wanted to give you a brief preview about these individuals and businesses and why they were nominated.

• Dan Olson is a cost-conscious HOA president who donates hundreds of hours of his personal time each year to keep their neighborhood park, Baldwin Park, looking nice and running smoothly.

• Guy Colwell plays a tremendous role in keeping the Castlebrook and Chesterfield subdivisions clean and attractive. He can often be found at the community pool, making repairs, cleaning, or doing security checks.

• Lisa Bain offers an anchor of support to neighbors and community members dealing with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological diseases.

• Rick & Roma Herriott, longtime Fieldstone Meadows residents, created and maintain an outdoor miniature lending library filled with books to be enjoyed for free by neighbors of all ages and interests.

• Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill at Eagle & Fairview annually hosts a National Night Out Kick-Off Event for local law enforcement officers, firefighters, and elected officials. They also help local non-profits raise money through Saturday morning pancake breakfasts.

• Jim Rosetti is said to be involved, in one way or another, in just about everything in Meridian Greens that impacts the neighborhood in a positive way.

• Bob & Jeanmarie Wheeler work tirelessly to keep their Tustin neighborhood safe, clean, and socially connected. They are described as “superstar neighbors” who would be qualified to mentor the Energizer Bunny.

• Frank Thomason, editor of the weekly Valley Times newspaper, documents our community’s heritage and history. Best of all, he chooses to focus on the positive, share uplifting stories, and gets to the heart of what Meridian neighbors need to know.

• Bob Kobza has been the hard-working president of the Bedford Place HOA for several years. He spearheads its National Night Out events and created a website which helps the neighbors come together and communicate more effectively.

• Brady Murray energizes his Bear Creek subdivision neighbors through his passion for raising funds to assist with the adoption of Eastern European orphans with Down syndrome.

I hope you will join me Wednesday evening, September 26, at 6:30 pm at Meridian City Hall as we salute this year’s Meridian Neighborhood Stars and share more about their good deeds. Come as you are and be prepared to meet some truly inspiring Meridian residents. After the awards are presented in City Council chambers, cake and apple cider will be served in the lobby.

It promises to be a wonderful evening to celebrate those who are doing so much to improve the quality of life and safety here in Meridian!