Maybe traditional is not quite the word to describe it when you have Groucho Marx emcee the event. Groucho, played by Steve Apple kept everyone in stitches all night in between awards and as door prizes were called out. As people sat down they found a traditional flower arrangement (a custom that has marked the tenure of regional director Mark Giebel where at least one participant could take the arrangement home at the end of the evening), various bottles of wine and different kinds of cake decorated the tops of each table. This lead to interesting negotiations between tables as people began trading slices of cakes at dessert time.

After dinner the awards began with the Green Merit Star. It was awarded to John Reilly of Mt. Baldy. John took great risks to his own safety while performing a chair evacuation during an ice storm.

A Blue Merit Star went to Karen Wentworth of Big Bear Valley ski patrol who encountered a serious traffic accident on her way to last years NSP Summer conference in Nevada. The incident required her to perform triage with four accident victims. Once EMS had arrived and was updated by her, Karen continued to manage the care of one of the people.

The Neanderthal "Frankie" Award is awarded to an alpine patroller who displays the qualities of a patroller that is most nordic like. This year it was awarded to Shirley Smith of Ski Sunrise who has been patrolling in both disciplines. Shirley has been in the National Ski Patrol for ?? Years.

Outstanding 1st Year Patroller went to Ed Knorn of Bear Mountain. Ed began the year as an Auxiliary patroller and auxiliary trainer. While devoting many hours to his normal duties and training others, he also completed his requirements and passed ski and toboggan tests to become a Basic.

Jim Otto of Big Bear Valley received the Outstanding Instructor Award for his participation in both Certified & Senior programs. Jim ran the Certified program for Northern California and co-taught the course in Southern California. He is a evaluator for Senior Ski and Toboggan and was present for all 6 dates. He is an OEC instructor and through it all, Jim continuously puts in all of his required duty days at Big Bear Valley.

The award for Outstanding Admin. Patroller went to Steve Francisco of the newly reactivated June Mountain. This year he put in in over 3000 hrs between the OEC program and regular patrolling duties. Steve oversaw and helped develop the new patrol based OEC Refresher program. In addition he was named to the National OEC Advisory Board.

Outstanding Patrol Representative Richard Roth was the recipient of the award in only his first year as Patrol Representative at Big Bear Valley. He patrolled every weekend throughout the season  and completed 6 of 8 elements in the Certified Program. In 1999 Richard was recipient of the Outstanding Male Alpine Patroller.

Like the recipient of last years Outstanding Professional Patroller, Dick Seward of Bear Mountain took this years award for his years of support of NSP programs. Dick is both a Senior and Certified patroller, he is an evaluator in the Certified program, an OEC instructor and has been with the NSP for over fifteen years. Dick is also part of the San Bernardino Sheriffs Search & Rescue, Flying Physicians & Visiting Nurses programs.

Susan Kaempfers' energy simply never runs out and that is why she received the Outstanding Auxiliary Patroller. Susan who patrols at Big Bear Valley is the coordinator of the Instructor Development program known as Phase I. She also helps teach Phase 2 courses and runs the Patroller Enrichment Program.

Always looking for ways to raise to the level of OEC proficiency. Maria King helped bring Mt. Baldy's OEC program to it's highest level. In doing so she was recognized as this years Outstanding Female Alpine Patroller. Maria is an OEC Instructor, Instructor Trainer and Instructor of Record for Mt Baldy's and Snow Valleys fall refresher. She serves on the Mt Baldy patrol board of directors, is active in regional administrative meetings and attends medical school.

Tireless in his pursuit of patrolling excellence, Tom Caldwell was honored as this years Outstanding Male Alpine Patroller. Tom became a Senior and Certified patroller in his first year as a patroller. Tom is the Senior ski & toboggan coordinator for the region, is registered at both Big Bear Valley and Mt. Baldy and is on the staff a Snow Summit. In 1999 Tom was voted Outstanding First Year Patroller.

The Dave Tollakson Region Directors Trophy was awarded to Larry Acord of So. Cal. Nordic Patrol at Mt. Pinos. Larry is Patrol Director and coordinates all of the training of nordic patrollers in the region. This year he helped mediate an understanding between the US Forest Service, CHP, Kern County Sheriff and Caltrans that kept the roads open in Mt Pinos through the winter. In 1999 he was recognized as the Outstanding Administrative Patrol Director.

Outstanding Nordic Patrol went to So. Cal. Nordic-Mt. Pinos. So Cal Nordic coordinated all training of nordic patrollers in the region. Helped out in OEC refresher at Shirley Meadows and was so well received that their area management they asked to go through program

Outstanding Small Alpine went to Mt. Waterman Ski Patrol for many of the same reasons as last year. They continued to be innovators in training and recruiting. Active role in their own recruitment patroller training in various areas including Tahoe and Canada. Mt. Waterman also hosted a summer rock climbing trip. Half of their patrol are instructors in one or the other disciplines.