2011 Über Albany Local Cup Winner: Peggy McQuaid

The Recreation & Community Services Department recently challenged community members to in Albany during . The person to rack up the most points from Sept. 19-25 won the honor of having her name emblazoned on a special trophy, which will be displayed publicly. , who was, for many, the favorite from the get-go due to her active civic life and commitment to community service, did not disappoint. The city plans to . Find a list of the top contestants below the following Q&A.

Q: What kind of strategy did you have for Albany Local Week?
A: I actually made a list for every day including what special events were happening, what normal activities I would be doing, and what extra things like shopping and eating out I could fit in.

Q: Did you get out and about more, or were you just doing your thing?
A: Pretty much normal activities, but I did attend the special events and definitely ate out more. I had several gift cards for local merchants and I made a special effort to use them during the week. In both cases I received a discount since I mentioned Local Week.

Q: What struck you as special about the week?
A: The Rec Department planned activities for every day of the week. They put a lot of extra time and effort into the program. Thanks, guys! There was a lot of prep work done before the event with publicity and contact with the merchants to arrange "specials"  There were lots of Local Week signs in the stores which was nice. 

Q: Do you think it should be repeated?
A: Yes, next year is a year, so that might be incorporated into the week. I imagine there would have to be fewer events provided by the city since the Dinner is so labor intensive and such a BIG special event. Perhaps community groups could host some of the other events.  

Q: What was your favorite event or aspect? 
A: It was fun thinking about all of the different things to do in Albany, eating, shopping, playing and how to combine events for the maximum points. The special events were attractive to a wide variety of folks. I really liked the on Solano and Ordway. It was nice to have an event that we could easily walk to. I enjoyed the which I attended on social media. These small individualized activities appealing to a specific audience are very unique to Albany. 

Q: Did you think it was successful? How do you quantify that? 
A: I certainly had fun with it. There seemed to be a lot of merchants participating as noted by the in the windows and the list in the . Seeing the number of folks at the various events makes me think it was a success. I don't know how many people actually submitted a score card, but that was only a small part of the week. What was important was getting people to think about what is available right here and the community building around all of the special events.

LIST OF TOP 20 PARTICPANTS

, 10,930
, 9,340
, 8,640
, 8,370
Ronna Alexander, 8,305
, 8,275
, 7,990
William Davidson, 7,675
J. Poulter, 7,500
Robin Donovan, 7,490
, 7,460
, 7,435
Roseann Fahrner, 7,420
, 7,375
, 7,355
Mark van Bronkhorst, 7,350
Sebastian Weinberger, 7,340
Seiji van Bronkhorst, 7,330
Raiden van Bronkhorst, 7,330
Marion Snyderman, 7,320