Six Individuals Honored with Special Awards at MDA Awards Banquet January 16

Local Media

January 16, 2020

McCarthy

SIX INDIVIDUALS HONORED WITH SPECIAL AWARDS AT MDA AWARDS BANQUET JANUARY 16

Kia Liszak Recipient of Dan Cederberg Downtowner of the Year Award

From a group of 18 nominees, the Missoula Downtown Association presented six special awards at the annual meeting of the general membership on January 16 at the DoubleTree Hotel in front of nearly 250 MDA members.

Kia Liszak, Director of the Zootown Arts Community Center, was named the Dan Cederberg Downtowner of the Year for her extraordinary efforts to convert the Historical Studebaker Building in the new ZACC in the heart of Downtown.

Jim McDonald of A&E Architects was the other nominee for the Dan Cederberg Downtowner of the year Award. McDonald is a longtime supporter of Downtown Missoula and has contributed to multiple program and projects, including Unseen Missoula, the Heritage Interpretive Plan, and the Downtown Master Plan.

Randy Krastel of the Missoula Police Department was named the Downtown Employee of the Year for improving safety in Downtown Missoula and helping more than 15 individuals find their way out of homelessness over the last 18 months. Krastel has been the Dedicated Downtown Police Officer (DDPO) since spring of 2018.

Other nominees for Downtown Employee of the Year were Krista Henley from Break Espresso and Mark Thompson of Worden’s Market. This was Thompson’s second nomination for the award.

Julie Maloney of Morrison Maierle Systems and Dan Maronick of ATTIC collectively won the Downtown Volunteer of the Year Award. Both have volunteered for nearly every MDA community event and festival throughout 2019.

The other nominee was Holley Bootsma of Quality Shelter Companies for her contributions to the Downtown ToNight Summer Series and the Festival of Trees.

Josh Eder, Financial Planner at S.G. Long, was named the Downtown Board Member of the Year. Eder serves on both the MDA Board and the Board of Directors for the Missoula Downtown Foundation.

Other nominees for Board Member of the Year were Ellen Buchanan of the MRA, who guided the efforts to update the Downtown Master Plan; and Bob McGowan of the Rocky Mountain School of Photography for his general contributions to a variety of MDA events.

The Downtown Committee Member of the Year was awarded to Chase Jones, Energy Conservation Coordinator for the City of Missoula. Jones has been instrumental in developing and implementing the sustainability initiatives for River City Roots Festival for several years.

Other nominees for Committee Member of the Year were Ashley Cossairt of Run Wild Missoula for her contributions to Roots Fest; Emy Scherrer, City Historic Preservation Officer, and Jimmy Grant of Historical Research Associates, both for their contributions to the Unseen Missoula program and the Downtown Missoula Heritage Interpretive Plan.

The Downtown Business of the Year Award was presented to ATG Cognizant. Under the direction of Tom Stergios, ATG Cognizant has grown rapidly to more than 225 employees. ATG Cognizant has been a leader in bringing higher paying tech jobs to Missoula with expansion plans in the Old Sawmill District.

Other nominees were Basal, the new fast casual restaurant in the Historic Merc Pharmacy Building owner by Julie & Taylor Clayton; and MCAT (Missoula Community Access Television) directed by Joel Baird.

For more information on the Downtown Awards Program, visit https://www.missouladowntown.com/annual-awards-dinner/ or contact the Downtown Missoula Partnership via phone (406-543-4238) or email ([email protected]).

The Downtown Awards are a program of the Missoula Downtown Association, one of the three organizations with the Downtown Missoula Partnership. The other two organizations are the Downtown Business Improvement District and the Missoula Downtown Foundation.

Downtown Missoula: Connecting Our Community!

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