Best Of Fremont Award Winners for 2018 – CONGRATULATIONS!!

Fremocentrist readers chose Fremont Mischief Distillery for Fremont's Best Business 2018. Owners Patti Bishop and Mike Sherlock accepted the award from Kirby Laney. Photo by Adrian Laney, Feb '19 — Fremocentrist readers chose Fremont Mischief Distillery for Fremont’s Best Business 2018. Owners Patti Bishop and Mike Sherlock accepted the award from Kirby Laney. Photo by Adrian Laney, Feb ’19

At the end of the year, readers of Fremocentrist.com (and attendees at Fremont Festivus activities,) were invited to vote for the Best of Fremont! They voted for the Citizen, Business and Non-Profit that exhibited the best of Fremont’s spirit, and made the Center of the Universe the phenomenal place we know it is!!

In January, Fremocentrist.com bestowed the awards on our three winners:

For Fremont’s Best Citizen, the award goes to… Juan Casanova! Identified on some ballots as “the guy who tends the flowers along N 36^th,” Juan has become an iconic figure as he moves around the community, doing guerrilla gardening of parking strips up and down 36^th Street. Another Fremont resident, Bill Crossman, did a profile of Juan for Fremocentrist.com (click here,) and helped get Juan his award. Juan seemed overwhelmed at the accolades!

Juan Casanova (center) accepted the award for Fremont's Best Citizen 2018, with Bill Crossman (left) and Kirby Laney. Photo by Adrian Laney, Jan '19 — Juan Casanova (center) accepted the award for Fremont’s Best Citizen 2018, with Bill Crossman (left) and Kirby Laney. Photo by Adrian Laney, Jan ’19

The Best Non-Profit Organization Award went to the Fremont Fun Club, also known as the Rotary Club of Fremont. Established in the new millennium (the year 2000,) Fremont Rotary has done dozens of great programs and projects in our community – including husbandry of the Dinos, and a contest to name the topiaries (Dino & Dora.) At the meeting where they received their award, most of the vistors praised their 2^nd Tuesday Sandwich-Making for Compass Center – for nearly two decades Fremont Rotarians have supplied sandwiches to those seeking assistance, made by volunteers. Find out more on the Fremont Rotary Facebook page (click here.)

Members of the Rotary Club of Fremont, with Kirby Laney, accepting the award as Fremont's Best Non-Profit Organization 2018, at Hale's Ales Brewery. Photo by Adrian Laney, Jan '19 — Members of the Rotary Club of Fremont, with Kirby Laney, accepting the award as Fremont’s Best Non-Profit Organization 2018, at Hale’s Ales Brewery. Photo by Adrian Laney, Jan ’19

The Best Business of Fremont for 2018 is Fremont Mischief Distillery! Everyone’s favorite for spirits and mischief has just completed a huge renovation, and now has an events space – and just hosted the First-Ever Fremont Festivus Music Festival. As voters were able to fill out ballots at the Festival, and some were enjoying Fremont Mischief Distillery’s fabulous spirits at the time… well, it doesn’t take away from how much this small business deserves the accolades!

Honorable Mention should probably also go to Maque daVis who came very close to winning the Best Citizen award. daVis, along with most Fremonsters, was devastated by the vandalism and theft of the Fremont Guidepost on November 17^th. However, he didn’t hesitate in restoring the art piece that he originally installed in 1995 at the Center of the Universe as an ‘art attack’ – or let the fact that he was performing in the Fremont Players’ holiday Panto at Hale’s Palladium. In December, daVis (with a lot of help from volunteers and Dunn Lumber,) re-installed a new and improved Fremont Guidepost.

Thank you to everyone who voted for the 2018 Best of Fremont! And a BIG Thanks to all of our winners for their hard work and commitment to our community!!