Ceremony to pay tribute to neighborhood volunteers

The Neighborhood Services office of the city of Spokane hosts its annual neighborhood awards ceremony Friday at City Hall.

“We don’t have specific awards categories, but this is our chance to recognize the volunteers that work with us all year,” said Jonathan Mallahan, director of Spokane’s neighborhood services and code enforcement office. “In reality we could give an award to every single one of our volunteers.”

Being a neighborhood leader can be a challenging and thankless job, especially during times where the city and the community more than ever are calling on neighborhoods to pull together and take care of one another, Mallahan wrote when announcing the event.

The office of neighborhood services accepts nominations throughout the year.

“We got at least 20 nominations for specific people, and then we got lots of people saying ‘please thank that specific group of volunteers,’ or a project they were fond of,” said Mallahan.

Along with the awards and the potluck there will also be a raffle for prizes donated by local businesses.

Mallahan said it’s not too late to sign up, or to mention an individual who deserves some extra recognition.

“We are expecting about 50 people, but now with the weather who knows?” said Mallahan.

It’s the 10th time the neighborhood awards are given out.

“We just want to say thank you to all the people we work with,” said Mallahan.