The Columbia Press
4
February 4, 2022
Awards: Three Astorians win George Award
Continued from Page 1
Don Frank Photography
Award winners, left to right, are Chris Laman, Lois Perdue of
Hamptom Lumber, Kevin Leahy, Janet Bowler, Judi Lampi, and
Norm and Brenda Hoxsey.
ty events, cleanups, trail im-
provements and more.
“They have been behind the
renaissance and revitaliza-
tion of Warrenton’s down-
town,” Balensifer said.
The couple were tricked into
attending the banquet when
current Spruce Up Warren-
ton Director Jeanne Smith
told them she couldn’t attend
because she and her husband
had to be out of town.
“It was a real surprise and
a real honor,” Brenda said.
“But, you know, there are 14
or 15 people who do as much
or more than we do.”
They felt humbled by all the
nice things said about them
that night.
“I had heard of the Rich-
ard Ford award before, but
hadn’t realized who he was or
what he had done,” she said.
The award is issued by the
chamber and co-sponsored
by both the chamber and the
city of Warrenton.
The award is named for
Richard Ford, who served as
the city’s building inspector
and fire chief and who was a
tireless volunteer on behalf
of the community. The Ford
Award serves as a citizen of
the year award for the city of
Warrenton.
About 130 people attended
the annual meeting, banquet
and awards ceremony held
at the Clatsop County Fair-
grounds.
George Awards
Astoria also has a top award
for citizens who get things
done, the George Award.
This year’s George Award
winners are Judi Lampi and
Janet Bowler of the Astoria
Nordic Heritage Park, and
Kevin Leahy, director of the
Small Business Development
Center at Clatsop Communi-
ty College.
“They didn’t just ‘let George
do it,’ ” (a reference to how
the award got its name), As-
toria Mayor Bruce Jones said
of Lampi and Bowler. “Each
of them in their own right has
a long history of getting good
things done – of doing the
work that needs to happen
without hesitation or com-
plaint.”
Together the women have
shepherded a six-year his-
torical park project to near
completion, overseeing more
than $1.5 million in dona-
tions, Jones said.
“Together they helped make
the
soon-to-be-completed
Nordic Heritage Park a beau-
tiful, educational, and mov-
ing tribute to generations of
brave, hard-working immi-
grants who helped make As-
toria the unique and special
place it is today,” he said.
Leahy and the team he has
built “have generated and
preserved millions of dollars
in local economic develop-
ment and are responsible
for new and saved jobs by
the hundreds,” former state
Sen. Betsey Johnson said in
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