There are dozens of workplaces in the Inland Northwest, hundreds maybe, where someone has posted anthropologist Margaret Mead’s words of empowerment:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

That kind of faith in civic engagement inspired The Spokesman-Review’s editorial board this year to honor an exemplary citizen contributor in the Inland Northwest. Once we put our collective minds to it and enlisted readers for their own suggestions, it became clear that the community is rich in nominees.

Mayoral recall spearhead Shannon Sullivan stood out, but there were plenty of other compelling contenders – from business people such as developer Marshall Chesrown, to public officials such as Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger, to tireless nonprofit workers such as Merilee Roloff of Volunteers of America, to dutiful citizens such as the restaurant workers and patrons who alertly called authorities when suspected killer and kidnapper Joseph Edward Duncan walked in with 8-year-old Shasta Groene.

Indeed, Shasta herself, who, despite her unthinkable ordeal, was composed beyond her years when interviewed by authorities who were investigating the atrocities committed against her and her family.

Those are a random sample of the ample pool we had to choose from. We expect it will be even deeper in the coming 12 months.