Derek Wyckoff was named the McMaster Award winner for 2023 in a ceremony held April 11, 2023 at the Inglewood Golf and Country Club. The ceremony hosted by the Kenmore Heritage Society honors outstanding community members who have contributed to making Kenmore a better community.
This year's ceremony combined in-person McMaster Award presentations for both 2022 (held virtually due to Covid) and 2023, along with the Emerging Leader Celebration to honor outstanding young citizens in our community.
The winners were:
McMaster Award – Stacey Denuski (2022) and Derek Wyckoff (2023)
Emerging Leader – Sofia Leotta (2022) and Pinyu Liao (2023)
As the owner of 192 Brewing’s Lake Trail Taproom, Derek stands out as a local success story for small businesses. But more than that, he has supported or sought out ways to help other community-minded organizations move their agendas forward, for example, by hosting Pints Nights to help area non-profits raise money. He is also an active member of the Bothell/Kenmore Chamber of Commerce, the Kenmore Business Alliance, the Planning Commission, and Northshore Rotary.
Derek embraces the community—going from 192 square feet of brewing space at home to choosing a spot on the Burke Gilman Trail, he helped put Kenmore on the craft brewing map by teaming up with other brewing businesses. The Brew Row banners say it all.
2023 EMERGING LEADER WINNER
Pinyu Liao is a senior at Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, and a self-described “microbe enthusiast and aspiring biomedical scientist.” After losing a close relative to an untreatable infection, Pinyu turned her energy to working on something that might make a difference to others. The result of her research, The Quest to Stop Antibiotic Resistance, gained her an invitation by the World Health Organization to showcase her video at their annual film festival. As she looks forward to graduation and going on to study science in college, Pinyu is currently helping the Kenmore Heritage Society launch its new Community Cinema series.
Among more than 1,000 submissions, Pinyu Liao’s work stood out. She’s a rising senior at Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, and this summer she became one of two teens across the globe selected to showcase her video project at the World Health Organization’s annual film festival.
2022 MCMASTER AWARD WINNER
Stacey Denuski has lived in Kenmore since 2001. While simultaneously working as a flight test engineer for Boeing she has also been a creative and energetic supporter of Kenmore’s youth over many years. Stacey was an active PTA member, and was outstanding in her success with fundraising work in Kenmore schools, including securing grants to support low-income youth.
Stacey worked with the community to create "Kenmore Play Day" which took place for over a decade at Rhododendron Park. Stacey has served on the Kenmore City Council and played a key role in creating more public access to the water, the Walkways & Waterways bond measure, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and the Kenmore Village development, including the Hangar and Town Square, and much more.
Stacey Denuski joined First Lady Michelle Obama and representatives from the National League of Cities (NLC) and several federal agencies at the White House on Sept. 16 2015 for a celebratory event honoring the achievements made by local elected officials participating in the Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties (LMCTC) initiative.
2022 EMERGING LEADER WINNER
SOFIA LEOTTA
Sofia Leotta graduated from Inglemoor High School in June 2021. Sofia’s extensive resume of
volunteerism that impacts our region includes being a Volunteer and Events Intern at the City of Kenmore, working for Teen Link as a Youth Crisis Specialist, and serving with the Sustainability Ambassadors (SA), where she became a member of the Leadership Team.
While at SA, Sofia has worked to integrate sustainability projects and curriculum across the Northshore School District, and participated in local grassroots efforts to improve sustainability within Kenmore.
Sofia is currently a freshman at the University of Washington, planning on majoring in Environmental or Civil Engineering, aiming for a career involving sustainable practices.