Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Encores: We heart even more people!

Published in the Portland Phoenix

We were right. We told you two weeks ago that any list of Portland's Most Influential people was inherently incomplete — and so it was. (See "We Heart These People," February 12.) I asked you to send in names of people you know who should have been included, and several of you did, or mentioned to us on the side that we'd missed someone.

One writer observed that fairly few of our nominees were volunteers, which is indeed a good point. We got one self-nominating note, took a call from a person who found possibly our biggest omission from the list, and even spotted one particular brief, amusing Facebook status update.

Herewith, our attempt to rectify some of our omissions. (And sorry, folks, no double-encores. If we still missed someone, we're sorry, but it'll have to wait until the next time we do a list like that. Send suggestions along anyway, though!)

GRETA BANK | artist | Portraying the undersides of humanity through bold visions, dripping with inspired color
MEREDITH STRANG BURGESS | cancer-detection activist; state representative from Falmouth; owner, Burgess Advertising | Working tirelessly to help others live better lives
KIRSTEN CAPPY | owner, Curious City | Getting creators, readers, and fans of children's books on the same page
KEITH FITZGERALD | owner, Zero Station | Opening his doors to help open others' minds
MAIR HONAN | pastor, Grace-Street Ministry | Non-sectarian ministering to those most in need
MATT JAMES + ALISON PRAY | bakers, Standard Baking | Feeding our need for buying home-baked goodness
BERT JONGERDEN | general manager, Portland Fish Exchange; member, Portland Board of Harbor Commission | Keeping the waterfront working
JULIE MARCHESE | founder, Tri For A Cure race; co-founder, SheJams.com | Getting women on the move toward healthier living
SARAH PARKER-HOLMES | coordinator, USM Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity | Promoting diversity and open-mindedness on and off-campus
ANITA STEWART | executive & artistic director, Portland Stage Company | Behind the scenes (literally and figuratively) running the city's biggest shows
MICHAEL TOBIN + JEFFREY CARON | artistic directors, Old Port Playhouse | Renewing an old venue with performances, teaching, and verve
VJ FOO | projection artist | Mixing video, music, and audiences to light up dance parties all week long