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I nominate Edith Keeler

nominations are a next step! i'll probably come up with something more formal later, but if you'd like to nominate someone, please go ahead and email me and tell me a little about the person and why you think they embody noble peace!

Serve in the military and just maybe this coalition could be taken seriously!

you hold military service in very high regard, Claire. i want you to know that many members of the Ojai Peace Coalition have served in the military, and i have many friends that are members of Veterans for Peace. military service alone does not make someone into a warmonger, and it is not mutually exclusive to peace work.

Evan will your Nobel Medals be available for s/heros as well? I think it's a great idea!!!!

Claire, have you served in the military? I know the military is really struggling right now with recruiting, so I'm sure they'd be happy to have you. By the way, when and where is the next GOP meeting?

Coleen, thanks for bringing up the gender-flavors of that term.

while it is true that most dictionary definitions of the word "hero" specifically refer to a "a man who...", and that there's a female-specific alternative (heroine), dictionary.com has this to say:

Usage Note: Many writers now consider hero, long restricted to men in the sense "a person noted for courageous action," to be a gender-neutral term. It is used to refer to admired women as well as men in respected publications, as in this quotation from The Washington Post: "Already a national hero in her economically troubled South Korea, . . . [Se Ri] Pak is packing galleries at [golf] tournaments stateside." The word heroine is still useful, however, in referring to the principal female character of a fictional work: Jane Eyre is a well-known literary heroine. Ninety-four percent of Usage Panelists accept this usage.

I'd like to lend my support and will give you some cash when I see you, Evan. - I nominate Glenn Emmanuel for the prize; he would be present in spirit to receive it; and his family could do the physical stand in. - I suggest separating the terms "hero" and "heroine" entirely from the Noble Peace Prize idea. A person does not have to be either a hero or a heroine to be a peacemaker, nor does a person have to be well known or even known to be a peacemaker. - Peace is a result of love and justice so if you want a gender-neutral term, try peace-lover or peace-justicer. Love, Dennis

I see where you are coming from Dennis and it is good point. I think it is a matter at how you come at this. For me, a peace maker is by definition a hero, though unrecognizable in most cases, to the public at large. I don't know too many peace makers. By what I understand Evan is proposing, is to give those heroes a bit of public recognition, thus their lives become an inspiration to others as we show are appreciation to them.

thank you, Dennis and Dana.

Dennis: you and i are in sync. many weeks ago, as i began very preliminary preparations for this award, i decided easily and immediately that Glenn would be the first recipient. i am checking with Cheri to see if it'd be alright, but i'd like to award this first one in his memory and honor.

Dana: i am with you on the hero/heroine topic. Dennis is absolutely correct that "A person does not have to be either a hero or a heroine to be a peacemaker"...which is why the opposite is true for me: a person has to be a peacemaker in order to be a hero or heroine. i'm uncomfortable with the fact that our American heroes wear exclusively either cowboy hats or camouflage...i think it's time for a new definition of what it means to be heroic, and i'm hoping that public recognition will help make it cultural in nature...to lift our friends and neighbors - our heroes - into the spotlight for a moment, to show THEM that WE care, and to show the COMMUNITY that their work matters.

Your hot evan, u single?

thanks, anonymous, but no. i'm married and expecting my first child!