Dear Friend,

I'm reaching out with exciting news! This year, we received dozens and dozens of nominations from Ward 6 residents for our 2025 Ward 6 "Brickie" Awards. Your nominations continue to be a source of inspiration and joy, highlighting the many people, organizations, and businesses that make Ward 6 so special. There's no way we could recognize everyone, but that only drives home the point: we're so lucky to be part of such a great community. 

So here are this year's best of Ward 6 in each of our five award categories, plus a very special recognition. There's still time to join us, so if your nominee's a winner, or if you forgot to send in your RSVP, register here for Thursday night's Ward 6 Brickie Awards. 

Neighbor Award: Rev. Brian Hamilton

Rev. Brian Hamilton is the beloved pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Southwest DC. Westminster serves not only as a worship home for many, but also a community hub for countless neighbors, regardless of their faith. Since their beginnings in the 1990s, Westminster’s popular weekly Friday Night Jazz and Monday Night Blues events have brought together a wide range of residents, becoming a staple for musicians and music fans alike who want to experience incredible live music at an affordable price. Under Rev. Hamilton’s leadership, Westminster has also opened its doors and expanded its ministry into the surrounding neighborhood to take on serious community challenges, including by embracing harm reduction strategies to reduce opioid overdoses through community training and intervention. Rev. Hamilton has maintained close relationships with resident leaders of nearby public housing communities for many years, and he constantly finds ways the church can better support neighbors. Finally, Rev. Hamilton has driven Westminster’s efforts to develop its land to create 225 new, affordable homes for families and seniors. As he's planning to retire in 2026, the time is right to recognize this pillar of the Southwest community. 

Community Organization Award: Capitol Hill Schools Parent Football League

The spirit of the Brickies has always been about recognizing seemingly simple efforts by neighbors that have an outsized, positive impact on Ward 6 residents and families. Nominated by dozens of neighbors, the DC Soccer Federation’s Capitol Hill Schools Parent Football League, organized by Auden Kaehler, is the perfect example. Auden, along with other parents, has created an adult recreational soccer league for local parents who play on teams for their children’s schools. The league builds stronger communities, one match at a time (with the added benefit of bragging rights). It’s also a great way for parents to meet on and off the pitch.

Business Award: Atlas Performing Arts Center

This award celebrates the vibrant, diverse, and deeply enriching programming that the Atlas Performing Arts Center brings to Ward 6 and the entire city from its home on H Street NE. Founded by Jane Lang, the Atlas opened in 2006 as a community-based arts organization. The Atlas provides multiple spaces for a wide range of live performances, including the wildly popular INTERSECTIONS Festival, which brings together 35 performances each February and gives artists a platform and audiences access to an impressive range of voices. The Atlas Performing Arts Center is a vibrant, inclusive, and community-minded anchor for the H Street NE corridor, as well as a regional arts hub - all a short walk from the front doors of many lucky Ward 6 neighbors.

Public Service Award: Maude Holt, Administrator & Health Care Ombuds, Office of Health Care Ombudsman & Bill of Rights, District Department of Health Care Finance

This year, the Public Service Award goes to Maude Holt, a dedicated DC government employee who has helped thousands of DC residents navigate acute health care crises, advocating on their behalf and seamlessly cutting through red tape. Maude is a fierce champion for the rights of DC residents to ensure they can get the care they need, regardless of their income or health status. For many years, she has been an invaluable source of assistance for Councilmember Allen and his constituent services team as they help Ward 6 neighbors, often during very stressful and sometimes life-and-death moments. Maude is responsive, thorough, bright, selfless, and humble, and she represents the very best of what it means to be a civil servant.

Civic Pride Award: Free DC

The award recognizes the incredible passion, organizing skills, and community-building behind Free DC. Across the District, but especially in Ward 6, Free DC has nimbly and joyfully rallied DC residents to fight back against federal intrusion into local affairs. This includes by organizing highly impactful “walk the halls” days in Congress, holding inspiring public rallies and press conferences with Congressmembers and local officials, packing Council hearings, and demonstrating an impressive ability to mobilize tens of thousands of residents around shared values and goals. Thoughtfully prioritizing inclusivity and liberation in their organizing, Free DC has united residents of every color, creed, and background in demanding the federal government keep its “Hands Off DC”, always underscoring the urgency of full statehood and autonomy as a wrong we must collectively right to realize our democratic ideals. Free DC has been a light in the darkness for many Ward 6 residents this year.

Special Recognition: Larry Janezich, Editor, Capitol Hill Corner

This award recognizes the 15-year anniversary of the founding of Capitol Hill Corner, a hyperlocal blog powered by Larry Janezich. Larry somehow manages to cover and report on nearly every public meeting taking place on, near, or involving the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill. Larry’s blog is a reminder of the power and importance of local journalism in documenting the many meetings and debates that most directly shape our lives. His monthly archives date back to his first post on December 3, 2010, a recap of an ANC 6B Executive Committee meeting about a potential moratorium on new restaurant openings. Since then, Larry has dutifully detailed and catalogued nearly every aspect of civic life for the residents of Capitol Hill. As of press time, his blog has 2,466,853 hits, a credit to his talent and dedication to building community through local reporting.

As we celebrate everyone Thursday night, we'll also enjoy phenomenal food and drinks, thanks to donations by Ward 6 and local DC businesses, including:

The Queen Vic | Tiki Garden Thai Street Food | Ethiopic Restaurant | Pie Shop | The Little Grand | Tunnicliff’s Tavern | Hill East Burger | Little Pearl | The Pretzel Bakery | Good Company Doughnuts & Café | la Betty | 2fifty Texas BBQ | Atlas Brew Works | DC Brau | Henceforth, | Ama | Mr. Henry's | Sweet Crimes

Additional event sponsors include Skyline 609, Building Creative, Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners, Naval Lodge No. 4, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, Hill Rag, Solid State Books, and printing donated by The Beytin Agency.  

Thanks to all those who submitted nominations, and I hope to see you Thursday!

Charles Allen