Vote on your nominees for St. Louis-area person of the year
Just to be clear, this is an informal survey of the opinions of people who read the Talk of the Day blog. We aren’t really naming an official “person of the year.” We have no magazine to adorn with the person’s face, we have no valuable sculpture to award to the person at a $500-a-plate dinner.
We’re just talking about newsmakers here as we muse over the ending of the 2008 year.
So, as I mentioned in an earlier Talk of the Day item, one of you suggested that we talk about the St. Louis-area person of the year. I said we’d use the criteria that Time magazine uses for its annual end-of-year annointment: “The person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year.”
In the earlier TOTD item, you all nominated who you thought would be good choices. Today, we offer a poll for you to vote among those nominees. I listed the nominations in the order in which they appear in the last TOTD topic. I excluded people I thought were way too obscure to capture a general audience. I excluded people who, well, weren’t people (sorry, Uno). I excluded myself; I’m not sure my kids would even name me person of the year.
So, off you go. Time to vote.
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Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
Their significant negative impacts (Burke, Drew, Brito, etc.) aside, I had to go with an entity that has worked the hardest within one of our most disappointing and non-supportive infrastructure for the good of the those with precious little recourse or power.
Here’s to the brave men and women who tolerate the abject failures, insurmountable challenges and ongoing disappointments of the St. Louis Public School system every day in their attempt to provide meaningful education to the kids, amid the continuing floundering of City of St. Louis. My hat is off to these rare jewels in our city’s crown, the true heroes.
Since my Dad didn’t make the list, I’m voting for Randy Grim. Screw the bad people on the list, their kind is a dime-a-dozen. I think a generous, genuine good person should earn this honor. Randy fits the bill.
I see no name worthy of St. Louis Person Of The Year, the closest is the Dog rescue guy.
Steve…agreed. The only other worthy one is Jose’ Alberto Pujols for his continued excellence at the plate, on the field and through his charity.
Raymond Burke…Catherine Hanaway…???
It’s not even close–the guy from Stray Rescue…who started his venture after being laid off from one of the airlines…never knowing where it would lead to…again…Burke & Hanway–BOTH political opportunists who foist their right-wing ideology in a crass and divisive manner.
Puh-leez.
I’d delete Burke’s name from the list and add the pope’s name. The pope is not a St. Louisian but he took Burke out of St. Louis (he waited long enough…shame the removal was for a promotion).
How about adding the Director of MODOT and the engineers who have helped plan as smoothless a ‘HWY40-less’ commute for St. Louisians as possible.
Kurt, if you are the one who came up with the selections then you are a complete moron, including some of the idiots like cookie thornton, Lori Drew and then stupid ones like Larry Salci, Joe Mokwa, Carlos Brito, among others. Also have to question the ones voting for those folks. This poll just needs to go bye bye, what a joke. At least a majority of the voters are picking decent people so far.
Kurt Warner? The guy isn’t even in the STL area anymore. It would be sad if St. Louis couldn’t find someone closer than 3,000 miles away to honor.
He’s a great person, but it’s time for STL to move on.
Cookie Thornton?
This list is stupid. No no it’s completely moronic.
You do not consider Cookie as a ‘person of the year’ no matter what. He’s scum and should not be recognized at all.
Pathetic.
questioning: Perhaps I am a moron. Perhaps you should read the blog entry again. Then you’d know how the names got on the list.