Schaumburg’s Brian Costin Wins “Sammie” Government Watchdog Award
March 30th, 2010 | by SFC Published in Blog, Features
2010 Sammies Winners Announced
Andrew Breitbart to headline national political activism awards to be held April 16 in Chicago
CHICAGO — Sam Adams Alliance today announced the winners of the 2010 Sammies Awards, its ceremony honoring the country’s finest in citizen leadership and political activism. The awards honor activism in six categories, and the awardees were chosen following a months-long contest and nationwide search.
“In the last year, we saw hundreds of creative citizens take leadership roles in the fight for freedom,” said Eric O’Keefe, chairman of Sam Adams Alliance. “The Sammies is our way of recognizing the best this effort has to offer, much the way the entertainment industry does with the Oscars or Grammys.”
Internet media pioneer Andrew Breitbart, founder of web sites Big Government, Big Hollywood, and Big Journalism will deliver the keynote address at this year’s awards, which will be hosted by Guy Benson of WIND radio in Chicago.
“With the last year’s unusually high levels of activism in support of smaller government and free markets, we had a huge pool of impressive nominees this year,” said Yvonne Ralsky, executive director of Sam Adams Alliance. “We found six winners from across the country that we feel stood out, and in the spirit of Sam Adams, offer the country’s best examples of effective political engagement.”
The theme of this year’s Sammies, “We Are All Activists Now”, draws inspiration from the last year’s historic burst of political engagement, manifest in tea parties, town halls, and a surge of citizen leadership at the state and local levels.
The Sammies are awarded in six categories and include cash prizes totaling $20,000. The categories include Blogger, Watchdog, Video, Town Hall, Tea Party and the premier award, Modern-Day Sam Adams. The 2010 winners in each of these categories are:
WATCHDOG :: Brian Costin of Schaumburg, Ill., won the $3,000 Watchdog Award for advancing transparency and exposing waste in the village of Schaumburg. As a result of his work, the village shut down one of the country’s most lucrative red light cameras. Costin saved taxpayers $15 million after exposing a fradulent tax-break scam and, moreover, built a government transparency website when the village rejected his transparency measures. His work has been featured on the local Fox and ABC affiliates, Chicago Tonight, as well as in the Daily Herald and Chicago Tribune.
There are 5 other winners from around the country that have done outstanding work for the cause of liberty over the past year. Check out their work here.
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