Sunny Howe, recipient of the Town of Herndon 2018 Good Neighbor Award, gets a hug from Lisa C. Merkel Mayor of Herndon during the award presentation Tuesday, Nov. 13 during the Town Council Public Session. Photo by Mercia Hobson.
At the most recent Town of Herndon Town Council Public Session held Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, the Town of Herndon presented the “2018 Good Neighbor Award” to Sunny Howe for her selfless contributions and commitment to her neighbors and her community as one who goes beyond the call of duty and makes a neighborhood a better place to live.
In a statement read during the town council public session Barbara Glakas, a member of the Town's Cultivating Community Initiative, which oversees the award, said the committee receives nominations for the annual award from citizens themselves, not members of the committee.
Glakas said Howe's neighbors told her Howe was one of the original members of the Spring Park Station neighborhood and has always been a strong force in the community both internally and serving on the HOA board.
"Moreover, your neighbors tell me you reach out to so many people in multiple ways. You check on people who are sick and bring them food; you visit neighbors who are elderly and alone and take them out to lunch and invite others to go along as well. You organize community projects such as the annual community cleanup day, and you perform a lot of the work yourself.”
Layna Cook, who nominated Howe for the Good Neighbor award, shared some of the words she wrote when completing the Good Neighbor Nomination form.
"Sunny facilitates connections between people, which helps foster community spirit and promotes the idea that we need to get to know and take care of our neighbors. Spring Park Station would be just a group of townhouses that people live in and not a ‘community’ without Sunny Howe."
After talking for a few moments about Howe, Cook paused and said, "Sunny is a bright light in the community."