What is a kitsap community champion?
For the context of this annual award, a Community Champion is a business whose core values are not exclusively profit, but who have the customer and the community at the core of their businesses' DNA. The Resilient Ecosystems Mission is to develop connected community, which starts with the neighborhood and grows into community and then to regional representative grassroots activism whose goal is creating resilience, community and security. The glue that holds much of existing community together is business, the best of these businesses hold the community and their customers in their heart. In 2021, we started this with one selection, Black Ring Spirits, this year we have eleven businesses represented.
2021 Award Recipient: Black Ring Distillery, Tom and Heather Martin.
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The selection process to this point has been in house and included several visits by our team to these businesses looking for consistent behavior, service and quality. Going forward we will be taking recommendations from the community which will be reviewed by our in-house team and a group of vetted reviewers being developed now.
Criteria All of these businesses have these things in common... a focus on people, on service, on their community! When you go in, you are greeted and you get the feeling that they care, that they go out of their way to make sure you get what you came for, if possible, and feel welcome. This is how you should feel in all places you do business, the reason you don't starts with management and permeates all levels. If the people working there don't feel well treated, you can never feel welcome.
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Timeframe for the annual award begins in January and goes through August and selections are made in September. In 2021 and 2022, awards were given at the end of September. For information on next year and going forward, look below to the recipient presentation below.
COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS
These businesses exemplify local, community focused, service based business. While they do not have strong online presence, they work everyday to make their community better. Sometimes it is by doing business in a way that supports, rather than ignores the needs of the people they serve. We Award this certificate to businesses that work with the community and focus on both supporting and building, engaged and resilient communities!
These businesses exemplify local, community focused, service based business. While they do not have strong online presence, they work everyday to make their community better. Sometimes it is by doing business in a way that supports, rather than ignores the needs of the people they serve. We Award this certificate to businesses that work with the community and focus on both supporting and building, engaged and resilient communities!
2023 and Beyond
Big plans are in development for October of 2023, The Return of Stone Soup!
When Resilient Ecosystems was first launched, in that time before we had any clue of the breadth of what we needed to do, we hosted a fund raiser dinner at the United Methodist Church in Bremerton, the first Stone Soup. The event was based on the 1968, Ann McGovern version, retelling the folk tale of community and how together we do better. October 2023, we will be hosting the second Stone Soup with Chef Chris Nau presiding over the soup, Black Ring Distillery handling the bar, and the 2023 award recipients being honored. Look here or on the Kitsap Resiliency Project page on Facebook for dates when it is formally announced.
When Resilient Ecosystems was first launched, in that time before we had any clue of the breadth of what we needed to do, we hosted a fund raiser dinner at the United Methodist Church in Bremerton, the first Stone Soup. The event was based on the 1968, Ann McGovern version, retelling the folk tale of community and how together we do better. October 2023, we will be hosting the second Stone Soup with Chef Chris Nau presiding over the soup, Black Ring Distillery handling the bar, and the 2023 award recipients being honored. Look here or on the Kitsap Resiliency Project page on Facebook for dates when it is formally announced.
Look for a link here on January 1st, 2023 to nominate local businesses for Community Champion!
