Golden Shovel Awards Presented

The Golden Shovel Awards recognize County residents who made extraordinary efforts to help others during a winter that saw the Washington area receive its largest overall snowfall in history.

I initiated these awards in 2003 to honor residents who lace up their boots to help neighbors shovel out after a snowfall. This year’s winners committed selfless acts that not only helped their neighbors, but united entire communities. It’s important to recognize these efforts because our residents are the pride and joy of the county.

And the Golden Shovels went to:
Gary Biggs—Silver Spring (nominated by Jane O-Dell)
The Buell Family—Rockville (nominated by Ana Volper)
The Busciano Family—Silver Spring (nominated by Julie Statland)
Bill Flannery—Silver Spring (nominated by several neighbors)
Jeff Hopkins—Takoma Park (nominated by Randy Cohen)
Duke Ikeda—Gaithersburg (nominated by Marvin Elster)
Jay Jones—Gaithersburg (nominated by several neighbors)
Students from MC*LEAD—Rockville (nominated by Nik Shushka)
Tim Myers and Yoko Nagasaka—Silver Spring (nominated by Paul Sladen)
The Neal Family—Bethesda 9nominated by Joseph and Sheila Silberstein)
David Perdue—Silver Spring (nominated by Tina Sandri)
Jeff Raines—Montgomery Village (nominated by John Padan and Ragnhild Van Alstyne)
The Rivera Family—Silver Spring (nominated by Elaine and Hal Stein)
Bobby Stockman—Gaithersburg (nominated by Chris Moore)
Paul Tamul—Germantown (nominated by Gaylen Garnand DiSanto and Peter DiSanto)
Thomas Thoma—Silver Spring (nominated by Helen Maurer)
Jeff Truesdale—Gaithersburg (nominated by his daughter, Suzanne)
Bill Wallish—Silver Spring (nominated by neighbor Florence Rand)
Daniel Whiting—Kensington (nominated by several neighbors)