Creve Coeur Names Citizens Of The Year

For the second straight year, Creve Coeur city leaders decided they couldn't just name one Citizen of the Year. 

They had to honor two.

Tuesday night, at a Holiday Appreciation Event held at the Creve Coeur Government Center, officials revealed that Kathleen Engel and Dan Tierney were the winners chosen last week by city council members.

Engel, who chairs the city's Climate Action Task Force, was lauded for her work spearheading the city's Green Power initiative, which seeks to offset Creve Coeur's citywide carbon footprint by 3 percent by next spring.

Editor's Note: Engel has blogged about those efforts on Patch.

Engel's work in recommending an ordinance to allow backyard chickens to be kept in the city was also praised, as was her current work looking at updating city building codes.

“Kathleen’s passion and commitment for environmental causes has made
a positive and significant impact on the entire community and for future generations," Council President Bob Hoffman said in a news release announcing the winners.

"I was surprised and very honored to receive the award. I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to do what I love and to have the platform to spread the green word," Engel wrote to Patch Wednesday. "The cherry on top is that I get to help my community and really make a difference for the future," she added.

Tierney's efforts to promote art in Creve Coeur was also recognized with his selection. Tierney has been part of the Recycling, Environmental and Beautification Committee, the Public Art Task Force and currently the Creve Coeur Arts Commission.

In those roles, Tierney has been a major contributor to efforts to inventory public art in Creve Coeur, city officials said, along with developing a Public Art Master Plan. He has also been a big backer of the work to create an artistic bus shelter along Olive Boulevard across from CityPlace.

"I was surprised by the award, but truly honored. The nice thing about volunteering in this community is you are surrounded by very dedicated and knowledgeable people. From the Creve Coeur staff and Council to all the volunteers on the committees. It is amazing how many talented people you find in your own community. I guess you cannot see it unless you volunteer," Tierney wrote to Patch.

“Dan has been a long time resident and immerses himself in all that he does in many different capacities. He has touched many lives along the way,” Ward 1 City Councilwoman Beth Kistner said in a news release.