The November 10th presentation also establishes the name of the Capitol Lifetime Achievement award as the Kaminski Award.
Kaminski said he was humbled by the recognition but at the same time felt unworthy of the award because of the many deserving people who put countless hours into the establishment of the Capitol Civic Centre. He cited as an example "Leo's Gang." That retired group of volunteers, Kaminski pointed out, labored at the Capitol for 15 years. It was Leo's gang the built the stage extension upon which .Kaminski pointed out, he was standing as he spoke, for only $500.
"We had a firm bid that very same job for $20,000. And, when it wasn't necessary to use the stage extension Leo's Gang of retired volunteers would take it down by hand and designed a way to hang it up to store it in those stairwells," Kaminski explained.
Both Capitol Civic Centre Board President Mark Klaiber and Executive Director Jim Kreutzberg detailed the Kaminski's role as part of a small cadre of people who spearheaded the long struggle to "save" the Capitol and refurbish it. They detailed the two major fundraising projects necessary to secure the Capitol's future in which Ron Kaminski was instrumental.
Kreutzberg referred to the "passion and fire" of Kaminski to achieve the dream that has become the Capitol Civic Centre.
Kaminski thanked those gathered on stage at the Capitol Tuesday Night for the award. He recalled the artists and artisans who worked long hours to restore the Capitol because " they knew how important this building was." He talked about the hours that volunteers spent painting, scraping gum off the floors and polishing the Capitol. And Kaminski issued a challenge to his fellow Capitol Board members to "re-establish the connection to the people that count, the community!"
Kaminski said the special magic of the Capitol Civic Centre was the feeling that everyone in the community had a stake in it's success. He made clear his belief that such a community connection is vital for the future of the Jewel on the Lakeshore. Kaminski described the Capitol Civic Centre as a living, breathing place that had to be allowed to meet the challenges of the future while affording proper respect for the achievements of the past.
Ron Kaminski is completing his second term on the Capitol Board of Directors and, according to Capitol bylaws, must rotate off the board after this term for at least one year.