There was no shortage of snow in our area this winter. Judging by the long list of Golden Shovel award winners, there was no shortage of people willing to help neighbors shovel out of that snow either.
Next week, Councilmember Nancy Floreen will again present the Sidewalks Are Safe For Everyone/Golden Shovel award to a bunch of county residents who helped with shoveling and neighborhood safety during snow events.
Floreen, who started the awards program in 2003, will issue 82 Golden Shovel awards to 111 individuals, many in Bethesda and Chevy Chase.
The awards are back for the first time since 2010. But this time, Floreen decided to award all nominees because of the “seemingly never-ending” snow storms.
“Our seniors, school children, people with disabilities and those who walk to work or use mass transit depend on snow-free sidewalks. This goes beyond convenience — it is a matter of public safety,” Floreen said. “To duly recognize these unsung heroes for all the gratitude people expressed, I decided I have to honor everyone who was nominated. They all deserve a Golden Shovel.”
Included is Bethesda resident Fadjil Asikin who “almost single-handedly cleared the busy sidewalks near his house that connect his neighborhood with the Grosvenor Metro and Wildwood Shopping Center.”
There’s Lise and Bill Bernhard who helped a neighbor by clearing snow off steps and cars. The Capizzi family in Chevy Chase (Joe, Anna, Sophia and Peter) joined others to shovel sidewalks on a pedestrian-heavy stretch of Wisconsin Avenue. So did the Hinkley family and Melanie Folstad, also of Chevy Chase.
Bethesda’s Richard Hoye got nominations from several neighbors impressed by his personal plowing of sidewalks along Old Georgetown Road.
New Bethesda residents Mylene and Eric Jouane made friends in their neighborhood quickly by checking in on elderly neighbors and shoveling their sidewalks and paths.
Ben LeBlanc, a 13-year-old in Bethesda, shoveled his neighbor’s walkway and cleared her car of snow. Chevy Chase resident Rick McUmber took the shoveling of the Wisconsin Avenue sidewalk between Hunt Avenue and Bradley Boulevard into his own hands by being the first one out during storms.
Nearby in Chevy Chase, Sue Ousterhout and her daughter Gina Balodemas took on the sidewalk along Bradley Boulevard. Bethesda’s Joseph Porcelli created a website — snowcrew.org — to match up volunteers to residents who are unable to shovel.
Sara Robinson brought out her snow blower in Bethesda to clear the driveway of her medically vulnerable neighbor. Pete Salinger shoveled snow on his neighborhood’s sidewalks.
Floreen will present the awards during the Council’s regular session on Tuesday, April 22, starting at 9 a.m. in Rockville.
