THE LOCAL HERO AWARDS is a community-wide arts project recognizing twelve Catskill residents who have touched the lives of others through their generosity. These awards celebrate power of individual good will, encourage community pride and focus energy on Catskill's most valuable resource, it's people.

Catskill is a little town along the Hudson River, like many small rural communities which struggle with the problems of failing Main Streets, disenfranchised youth and generally poor perceptions of the community's worth. Just as issues of self esteem can plague individuals, damage to the Catskill community's pride has endangered the public's moral to help itself. This public art project supports a wave of concerted efforts on the parts of government, education, business and civic groups to restore Catskill's hope and viability.

In an effort to give our on-line audience a chance to preview The Local Hero Awards, we have posted several of the images from the project along with the stories that accompanies them. Please click on one of the recipients' names below to find out why they are truly local heroes.

January 18th through February 14th, storefronts on Catskill's Main Street will exhibit the portraits and stories of Local Heroes, ordinary people who have contributed to their community in extraordinary ways.

The Local Heroes portraits and stories will be published in the Catskill Daily Mail as a month-long feature, while the exhibition is on display.

The Local Hero Awards is a public art project designed by Catskill artist, Fawn Potash. Click here to view information about her current gallery exhibition and her background.

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The Local Heroes Project was made possible with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered in Greene County by the Greene County Council on the Arts. Additional funding was provided by the Puffin Foundation's fund for community art projects.

These pages were created and designed by Nicholas Tolson. Send comments, inquiries and corrections to nickles@geocities.com.