OAKtoberfest 2014
RThanks to the 100+ folks who attended OAKtoberfest, RNeighbors’ third annual fundraiser at the Ramada, on Friday, October 3. This celebration highlighted the community building work that RNeighbors does throughout the year. The evening was filled with amazing German cuisine and brews, creative auction items and recognition of some outstanding neighbors.
Check out the event program for the assortment of raffle items that focused on trees or beer. Emcee Tracy McCray kept the evening moving along smoothly, making sure to highlight all of the pieces of the program. The Neighbor Awards were an important highlight of the festivities.
We’re grateful to all of you who attended the event, helped organize it, or who contributed to the success of OAKtoberfest. Our thanks for your support to help RNeighbors put on a fest enjoyed by all and finish in the black this year.
Check out RNeighbors on Facebook and see photos from this event and more.
Photo: Mayor Brede, Tracy McCray, RNeighbors Board member Jesse Walsh, RNeighbors Executive Director Rene Lafflam, RNeighbors Board member Aaron Stelpfug, RNeighbors Board member Bob Nowicki, Legacy Award winner David E Byer and Green Thumb Award winner Mitch Moore.
Neighbor Award Winners
Green Thumb Award
Mitch Moore, from the Friends of Indian Heights neighborhood was awarded the Green Thumb Award, given to a neighbor who has improved their neighborhood, yard or local community.
Nominated by Dawn Littleton
In 2010, to raise awareness of an endangered park, Mitch door-knocked over 800 flyers to neighborhood homes and city officials. This is how the FOIH
neighborhood association began.
Mitch exhibits calm and thoughtful leadership through his role as an instructor at Winona State (PhD), RNeighbors Board member, RNeighborWoods volunteer, Master Naturalist and as part of the Collaborative Leadership Fellows program. This summer he hosted 8 groups of “Summer of Service” students to learn about park history, invasive plants and to help remove invasive species of buckthorn and honeysuckle trees from the Indian Heights Park. In addition, he serves as a mentor to Silver Creek Corners residents to engage them in participating in Citizen Forester Training and volunteer work in Indian Heights Park.
Green Initiative Award
Eileen Zirbel, from the Historic Homestead Addition neighborhood was awarded the Green Initiative Award, given to a neighbor or group who spearheaded and developed green initiatives within their neighborhood, as a means to make Rochester a more environmentally sustainable place to live.
Nominated by René Lafflam
Eileen leads the Historic Homestead Addition neighborhood association and continually uses creative ways to bring her neighbors together. Through neighborhood evening strolls, the adorable signage and garden at their neighborhood’s entrance, usage of facebook for neighborhood communication and the promotion of historic value in Homestead and across Rochester are just pieces of her dedication. She served on the Rochester Heritage Preservation Committee, currently sits on the Mayor’s Council on Neighborhoods and, in 2010, Eileen helped her neighbors plant 25 new boulevard trees through the Neighborhood Tree Grant. When not working on neighborhood initiatives, she is an instructor at RCTC for Surgical Technology and has worked for 30 years as a Certified Surgical Technologist in Neurosurgery at Saint Mary’s.
Legacy Award
David E Byer was awarded the Legacy Award, given to an individual who through their dedication to community, volunteerism and talents has created a lasting positive impact on Rochester neighborhoods.
Nominated by Bob Nowicki
In the 1990s David was frustrated by some public safety issues in Rochester and volunteered to serve on the original Mayor’s Advisory Council. This group worked with neighborhoods and eventually recommended to the City Council the creation of what would become known as RNeighbors.
One project he was key in making a reality was the “City Ordinance Highlights Toward Neighborhood Awareness” booklet that is now in its seventh printing and entitled “Ordinance Highlights.” This is a tool that RNeighbors distributes annually by the thousands to Rochester citizens. Four years ago David retired from Mayo Clinic Department of Anesthesiology after 35 years. He now enjoys eating, sleeping, traveling and having fun with his extended family.
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