And the winners are...

Northeast Shores' Brian Friedman and this year's North Collinwood Hall of Fame inductee, the Beachland Ballroom's Cindy Barber.

On Tuesday, February 23rd at our Fourth Annual Taste the Neighborhood event, Northeast Shores recognized some pretty wonderful people and organizations.

Resident of the year this year - Brian Licht.  Brian works with both of our Feral Cat projects, Waterloo Alley Cats and the Euclid Beach Feral Cat Project. Brian can be seen trapping feral kitties to be neutered or spayed and then releasing them back in to a colony of cats to be cared for.  Brian is also very active in the East 156th St. Block Watch. He has been known to work the coat check room at the Beachland Ballroom and then donate his tips to the cat projects. Brian is one of our unsung heroes. He just does what needs to be done and never looks for recognition for his good deeds.

Block Club of the Year – East 156th Street Block Watch. This group of Block Watchers is growing every month. This group has gone from a handful of people attending meetings to a regular attendance of 30 people. Pat and Al Harrison, the chair people of this group, accepted the award on behalf of their group. If you live around East 156th St. and would like to get together with your fellow neighbors to share concerns or ideas, please consider attending their meetings. They are always on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, at 6 pm, always at the B&M Barbecue Event Center, 15116 Lakeshore Blvd.  Anthony Becham of B&M donates this space every month for this group to have a meeting place. There is always a 5th District Police representative there and Councilman Polensek is usually there as well.

Investment of the Year-– City of Cleveland for the Collinwood Recreation Center This award was a no-brainer. After 30+ years North Shore Collinwood finally has its Rec Center. Jen Ryba, the manager of the Rec Center and Councilman Polensek accepted this award on behalf of the City of Cleveland. Our Rec Center is the first LEED certified Rec Center in the City of Cleveland. It is a state of the art facility with an indoor water slide and more. The center is open Monday through Friday 7:00 am to 7:30 pm and Saturday from 10am - 5:30pm. Call 216-420-8323 for a list of programs.

Business of the Year-– All American Pride Car Wash. Patrick Montgomery and Jack DiCocco, the owners of American Pride Car Wash, accepted this award for their investment in our neighborhood. Their car wash located at the corner of East 156th and Lakeshore is a wonderful addition to the Lakeshore Corridor. The architect who designed the Rec Center also designed their car wash so that it would complement the Rec Center. If you have not washed your car there, stop in and do your car a favor.

Partner of the Year-– Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. Tom Schorgl accepted this award on behalf of CPAC. Our Artist In Residence program would not be possible if not for CPAC. They have brought $500,000 to our neighborhood to use in many ways from grants to loans for artist-based projects. Whether you already live in the area or are thinking about moving to our area, there is a grant or loan program for you. We are lucky enough to have Seth Beattie from CPAC in our Northeast Shores office 3 days a week to administer this program. If you have questions or need help with your grant or loan application, call Seth at 216-481-7660 X 27.

North Collinwood Hall of Fame-– Cindy Barber. You would have had to be living in a cave to not know who Cindy Barber is. Cindy is the biggest cheerleader Waterloo has. Not only does she own the Beachland Ballroom but she has been instrumental in bringing businesses to Waterloo and residents to the neighborhood. Cindy envisions a whole artist community for the Waterloo area and is well on her way to accomplishing this. The Branchland Ballroom is the anchor on Waterloo. She has world-renowned acts there as well as small local acts. People come from all over the world to catch acts at the Beachland. Cindy is also a resident of North Shore Collinwood. She has been on the Board of Northeast Shores for over 9 years, at one time serving as the President. She was also on the Board of Arts Collinwood serving as their president at one time as well. Cindy won the 2007 Martha Joseph Prize for distinguished service to the arts for her perseverance in bringing the Beachland Ballroom to an area that needed a vision. Now several other businesses have opened nearby and people are visiting the Waterloo area.