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Influence the Choice Seeks Nominations: Vicki Hoffman Legacy Award

CommunityHuman InterestPress Release


Portrait of Vicki Hoffman by Issaquah Artist Michael Johnson

Influence the Choice Seeks Nominations: Vicki Hoffman Legacy Award


Each spring, the Influence the Choice Board of Directors solicit and accept nominations from the community for the Vicki Hoffman Legacy Award. This year’s Vicki Hoffman Award will be presented at the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce’s Community Awards Banquet scheduled for May 21, 2024.
 

Honoring Vicki Hoffman

Vicki Hoffman was a founder of Influence the Choice, as she was for many other enduring legacies in the Issaquah community. She worked hard to recruit other founding members, served as the first emcee for Action Forum for Youth and led the first Take Back Your Meds campaign. She was subsequently unanimously elected as the first Chair of the Board of Directors. Vicki served in that role until her death from a cerebral hemorrhage in October 2013, very shortly after we learned that ITC had received its first federal Drug Free Community grant.
 
Vicki was a community organizer of the first order, but she is best remembered as an artist. Her penchant for bringing art into achieving even the most mundane tasks became her signature!
Energized by her effervescent spirit, Issaquah’s art docent program grew into a formidable force for ensuring that the young people of Issaquah appreciated and participated in art. She “grew” a foundering program into today’s Issaquah PTSA program – with docents volunteering at every school, bolstered by a fantastic art education experience. The portrait of Vicki included in this release was created by fellow artist Michael Johnson for her memorial service.
 
Vicki was also an outstanding advocate for young people in need. She initiated a meals program at Tiger Mountain Community High School where she was a regular PTSA and art docent volunteer. Her spirit was sunny, optimistic, loving, creative, warm, informed and effective. A true and unforgettable “force of nature,” Vicki brought cheer and laughter to every encounter.
 

Criteria

People nominated for the Vicki Hoffman Legacy Award should embody the following criteria:
  1. Live or work in the Issaquah School District area.
  2. Demonstrate a community commitment to the behavioral health and well-being of youth.
  3. Be an advocate for Influence the Choice’s mission of preventing youth substance abuse and promoting the mental, physical and social wellness of youth.
  4. Engage the work with commendable passion and obligation.
 

Deadline and Submission Information

People who wish to nominate a person for the Vicki Hoffman Legacy Award may submit a letter of no more than two pages to Barbara de Michele, Influence the Choice Board President, c/o barbdemichele@gmail.com by midnight April 30, 2024. In your letter, you should address how the nominee embodies the award criteria, along with any additional information deemed important to the nomination. Nominators may include up to three references in support of the nomination, but these are not required or expected. If references are included, please provide email and phone contact information. Please also include address, phone and email contact information for both the nominator and the nominee. No submissions will be accepted after April 30. Final awards are made at the sole discretion of the Influence the Choice Board of Directors. If you have questions, feel free to contact Barbara. Thank you so much for your help!!
 

Previous Vicki Hoffman Legacy Awardees

  • 2019 Katie Moeller, ITC’s former Youth Services Manager
  • 2020 State Representative Lisa Callan
  • 2021 Jerry Blackburn, ITC’s former Executive Director
  • 2022 KayLee Jaech, Founder and Executive Director of The Garage, A Teen Café
  • 2023 Brad Finegood, Seattle-King County Public Health opioid prevention advisor
 

About Influence the Choice

Influence the Choice is a non-profit, community-based, grassroots organization dedicated to preventing youth substance abuse and promoting the mental, physical and social health of our youth. Influence the Choice has been serving the Issaquah School District community since 2010. We were a 2013-2023 recipient of a federal Drug Free Community grant through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). ITC is currently supported by major grants from the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency, the cities of Issaquah and Bellevue Human Services, Issaquah Arts Commission, Bank of America, the Snoqualmie Tribe, and many individual and organizational community donors. View our website at: https://www.influencethechoice.org/

Influence the Choice Seeks Nominations: Vicki Hoffman Legacy Award