The Port Townsend Main Street Program hosted its annual holiday membership event on Dec. 8 at The Old Whiskey Mill at 1038 Water St. During the event, Main Street board members were recognized, and the winners of the program’s Main Street Champion, Volunteer of the Year and the Collaborator of the Year awards were announced.

The gathering included a welcome by Xoe Huffman, the outgoing Port Townsend Main Street Program board president, and a Main Street news update from executive director Mari Mullen. The event was attended by more than 60 guests.

In addition to Huffman, outgoing board members include Paul Rice and Christel Hildebrandt, both of whom were recognized for their dedicated service while on the board.

The program also welcomed four new board members for 2017: Scott Rogers of Dogs-A-Foot; Amber Bartl of The Old Whiskey Mill and Sirens Pub; Wendy Duede of First Security National Bank; and Emily Henry of Get Connected Jefferson.

Kris Nelson, owner of Sirens, Alchemy Bistro and the Old Whiskey Mill, is to take the helm as board president for 2017.

The highlight of the evening was the volunteer awards.

This year, the Port Townsend Main Street Program honored Danny McEnerney of The Rockfish Group as the Main Street Champion of the Year for creating an outstanding new website for the nonprofit Port Townsend Main Street Program. He also provided training to staff members to help them learn the new platform, and he continues to offer his expertise.

Christel Hildebrandt, owner of The Uptown Pub, was named Main Street Volunteer of the Year. Hildebrandt has served as a board member and an active member of the Main Street Promotion Committee for the past two years, planning and working on many Main Street events. She has been active as a sponsor for both Concerts on the Dock and The Uptown Street Fair, assisted with volunteer and member recruitment and was a hands-on helper at Concerts on the Dock.

Main Street’s Collaborator of the Year is Kiwanis Port Townsend. Kiwanis’ 110 members offer many thousands of volunteer hours in service to children locally and around the world. Through its Backpack for Kids program (feeding 50 local children), Christmas for Children/Toys for Tots “Stars of Tomorrow” show, the Camp Beausite NW project (which serves children with disabilities), youth scholarships and other events, such as the Classic Car Show and Kiwanis Haunt, the organization focuses on raising money to serve children of the world.

The Main Street Program applauded Kiwanis’ collaborative spirit in serving and strengthening the community. Kiwanis president Jan Carter, and Rowen and Mary Arroyo accepted the award certificate on behalf of their organization.

There is a Main Street tradition that the previous Collaborator of the Year assists with this award. The 2015 Main Street Collaborator of the Year was KPTZ-FM. KPTZ has invited the group to come and tell the Kiwanis story on the air.