Monte Cristo Awards honor Everett’s best-tended properties
Published 5:37 pm Wednesday, October 13, 2010
When Steve and Laurie Skorney moved into their 1907 home in 1990, it needed a lot of work, inside and out.
Over the course of the past 20 years, however, they’ve turned their turn-of-the-century starter home into a gem, inside and out.
The Skorneys already have been awarded a Pride of the Neighborhood Monte Cristo Award from the city of Everett for their efforts to improve their home’s exterior.
Thursday night, however, the couple, both in their mid-50s, will accept another Monte Cristo: the Marian Krell Award.
Formerly known as the director’s award, it is the highest curb-appeal honor the city gives.
Named after one of the creators of the Monte Cristo Awards program, the Marian Krell Award goes to homeowners who have been awarded previously but who continue to take exceptional care of their property, said Wendy McClure with the city of Everett Office of Neighborhoods.
Where crumbling shingles once hung on the Skorney home, new, beautifully painted siding now shines in a custom mossy-olive-green-beige hue the Skorneys created with help from Hatloes of Everett.
The Skorneys played off the color with white trim, plus a deep purple accent color on the shutters and front door.
They also added a new lawn and roof and, more recently, a concrete paver patio.
White picket fencing creates a secluded side yard and their landscaping is extensive.
“We’ve always been working on the yard,” Steve Skorney said. “In 20 years, we’ve been able to grow some landscaping trees and shrubs.”
Steve Skorney said an increasing number of properties in his neighborhood have been converted from rentals into owner-occupied homes.
He’s also noticed their prized paint color showing up on other homes.
That’s a recognition all its own, said Skorney, who used to paint homes in college.
He’s not surprised. After they completed their paint job, they started giving out paint swatches to all the folks walking by who asked about the color.
Steve Skorney, a long-range planner for Snohomish County, and Laurie Skorney, who works the switchboard at Providence Regional Medical Center, are continuing their quest for quaint.
They’ve already planted 100 Skagit Valley tulips bulbs ready to pop up come spring.
Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com.
Monte Cristo Awards
The city of Everett will recognize residents and business owners, 60 in all, for taking exceptional care of their properties at the annual Monte Cristo Award ceremony Thursday night.
Properties from neighborhoods across the city will be honored in three categories: Pride of the Neighborhood, Rejuvenation and Transformation, and Neighborhood Friendly Business.
If you’d like to nominate someone in your neighborhood for next year’s awards, forms will be available in early 2011. See www.everettwa.org or contact Wendy McClure at wmcclure@ci.everett.wa.us or 425-257-8717 with questions.
2010 Monte Cristo Award Winners
Bayside:
Rodhney Tull
Horace L. and Patricia Carrell
Christopher Roberts
Jim and Mary Testerman
Kisimul Manor, Jim and Kristie McNeil
Boulevard Bluffs:
Wendell and Betty Browning
Nancy and Steve Middleton
Rodney and Kelly York
Cascade View:
Alan and Maureen Ross
Joel and Monica Schwandt
Richard Heng
Linda Larimer
Delta:
George Deane
Glenn and Carol Lindenmuth
Wanda and James Ollis
Brian Jubie
Everett Mall South:
The Shaws
Evergreen:
Dorothy and Thomas Persell
Ed and Nancy Trejo
Glacier View:
Daniel and Suey Byrnes
Alfredo Herrera
Gary and Pam Martin
Daryl and Susan Presley
Holly:
Roy and Myrtle Slaughter
Harborview-Seahurst-Glenhaven:
Christopher Chase
Virgil and Mary Morgan
Lowell:
Timm and Peggy Leighton
Les Straw and Kathy Miller
Karen S. Epperson
John Palumbo
Kim Douglas, After Image Salon
Northwest Everett:
Steve and Laurie Skorney
Paul and Sue Donovan
John and Linda Hadfield
Lynn Vanlandingham
Lin and Marci Cooper
Michael and Patricia Larkin
Bryan and Vicki Lust
Pinehurst:
John Kisela
Marjorie Lidwell
David and Jamie Bergley
Geri J. Taylor
Port Gardner:
Paul and Karen Bartlow
Teresa Townsell
Daniel Cox
Novlina and Michael Short
Marc and Josey Wise, WiseDesignz
Riverside:
Bill and Kelli Collins
Relly and Cherie Fenrich
Nancy Diedrich
Geary Watkins and Ruth Raby Moen, Busy City Coffee House
Randy and Sandy Morris, Old Strokers Motorcycles Works/ Bench Racers Cafe
Silver Lake:
Forrest and Conny Loving
Corina and Liviu Ciceu, Silver Lake Adult Family Home
South Forest Park:
Robert and Denise Vadjinia
The Cornejo Family
Valley View:
Donna Rathbun
View Ridge/Madison:
John and Sandi Pedigo
Chrystal Holley
Timothy and Phyllys Woehl
