Six Como Park and St. Anthony Park residents were placed on the City of St. Paul’s Neighborhood Honor Roll in January. Each year, residents of all 17 districts in the city are encouraged to nominate neighbors who make their neighborhoods a better place to live, work and play. The award recipients were honored at a celebration at the University of St. Thomas on Jan. 25.
District 10 selected Janna Caywood, Valerie Cunningham and Panod Klongtruatroke out of nine nominations. The District 12 council selected Alice Duggan, Scott Hamilton and Kristal Leebrick out of five nominations. The honorees are listed below, along with each district’s description of why they were selected.
Janna Caywood
Janna Caywood is a dedicated community advocate who founded the Como Lake Neighborhood Network (CLNN) to provide a means for neighbors to help preserve Como Lake. She has worked diligently on the Como Curb Cleanup project to inform people about the effects of debris on Como Lake, as well as the larger watershed region. Caywood is also an active block leader and generously devotes her time to bringing neighbors together and improving the community.
Valerie Cunningham
A block leader and member of the Environment Committee and St. Paul Audubon, Valerie Cunningham conducts bird tours, monitors bluebird houses in Como Regional Park and helps maintain several public gardens. Cunningham has been instrumental in organizing the annual neighborhood garden tour, Tree Appreciation Project and popular public lecture series. She is a familiar face at park cleanups and shoreline planting and weeding sessions. Cunningham is also a reading tutor and volunteer classroom assistant at Chelsea Heights Elementary School.
Panod Klongtruatroke
Panod Klongtruatroke served on the District 10 Community Council from 2010-12, lending his calm and thoughtful voice during discussions about several controversial projects challenging the community. A strong advocate for transparency, Klongtruatroke designed and implemented a new website that dramatically improved the council’s ability to represent the community. As vice-chair, he led a team that recommended council bylaws revisions that ensure the continued effectiveness of the District 10 Community Council as a vehicle for citizen involvement in community affairs.
Alice Duggan
Alice Duggan diligently keeps St. Anthony Park a beautiful place. She maintains the St. Anthony Park Branch Library window boxes beautifully and rounds up volunteers to do the weeding and planting throughout the year while putting in many hours herself. She is an active volunteer for the St. Anthony Park Library Association and a vital participant in the St. Anthony Park Garden Club. The neighborhood is a better place because of her work.
Scott Hamilton
Scott Hamilton is a leader in a team that has spent countless hours making the Langford Park Hockey Program into a fabulous neighborhood asset. In addition to serving the 100 kids who play hockey in the program, the Langford Park Hockey Program maintains the ice rinks at the park and puts on the Langford Park Classic each January. Hamilton plays a role in everything from striping the ice to serving as tournament director. He is the heart and soul of the program.
Kristal Leebrick
The Park Bugle is a crucial part of the community fabric of St. Anthony Park. In 2010, Kristal Leebrick took over the reins of the Bugle and continues to keep this gem alive by producing excellent issues. She seemed to need no time to adjust to the responsibilities of any fine news editor and immediately proved she could live up to her predecessor. St. Anthony Park is fortunate to have her services.
