Announcement

2012 Good Neighbor Festival Parade Winners

Best Overall parade entry: Little Red Preschool

Float Construction

1st Prize: Red Hat Ladies
2nd Prize: Ashton Go-getters 4-H Club
3rd Prize : The Tanning Cafe

Performance

1st Prize: Premier Dance Academy
2nd Prize: Kicks, Unlimited
3rd Prize: Madison Packer Backers

The entries were evaluated based upon their adherence to the 2012 GNF theme (“Magic Moments”), creativity, performance, and float construction.

The four judges were DeeAnna Deane, Joan Perry, Nancy Riesch-Flannery, and Kathryn Tyson.

Good Neighbor Awards Announced

Middleton Good Neighbor Festival organizers have announced the 2012 Good Neighbor Award winners. They are: Mike Hinz, Gabrielle and Natalie Hinahara, and Jerry Sielaff, M.D.

Each of these recipients is recognized for their commitment to service and for the volunteer efforts they have made in the Middleton Community. Award winners will be recognized in the Good Neighbor Festival parade on Sunday, August 26th at 12:00 pm. This year’s award winners have participated in a variety of volunteer efforts.

Mike Hinz is the President of the Middleton Baseball & Softball Commission (MBSC). Through Mike’s leadership, Middleton is home to a first class baseball/softball facility at Fire Fighters Memorial Park. Through the MBSC, Mike has had a positive impact on our youth. Mike is also quick to fill in when needed, as displayed when he filled in at our Festival when a stand was shorthanded.

Gabrielle and Natalie Hinahara are perhaps our youngest Good Neighbor Award Winners to date. Together, these sisters, co-founded Growing Food and Sustainability. This non-profit organization is based right here in Middleton, and is a new youth-led, community based sustainability initiative. With two school garden sites, school aged children intern with the Hinaharas and gain knowledge on gardening and farming. All of the produce raised at these sites goes to help stock the shelves at the MOM food pantry.

Dr. Jerry Sielaff, actively involves himself in all of the Kiwanis’ fund-raisers including selling brats at Good Neighbor Fest and serving at our annual pancake breakfast at Middleton Sport Bowl. He volunteers on Kiwanis community service projects, such as cleaning up Camp Wawbeek for use by developmentally or physically challenged kids, serving pizza and ice cream at the MHS best buddies holiday party and ringing the bell for the Salvation Army to name just a few. In addition, outside of the club, he volunteers monthly with MOM’s mobile food pantry at Vos Haus. When he hears of a need he quietly does what he can to assist–for example, buying a trailer for the kids at the Youth Center for use with gardening projects. He has been very involved with serving on the committee to bring the Clark Street Community School into existence. This school will provide a unique opportunity for students and business leaders in the Middleton area.

Each of the award winners will be featured in detail in the Good Neighbor Festival Supplement to be published in the Middleton Times.

Festival organizers select winners from nominations made earlier in the summer.

Nominees must reside in the Middleton area and their contributions to the community should be of sufficient duration to warrant recognition. If you know a “Good Neighbor” and would like to nominate someone for the 2013 Good Neighbor Festival, watch the Middleton Times for details next spring, or go to the Good Neighbor Festival website.