Best Rollercoaster Career: Jack Rouse, CEO of Jack Rouse Associates. He began his varied career building theme parks, including King's Island, and now leads a high-profile local writing, design and production firm. Because of his independence and creativity, he was tapped to be chairman of Riverfront Advisory Committee, which came up with the proposal for The Banks, a from-scratch neighborhood between the two new riverfront stadiums.

Best Example of a Whole Person: David Michael, a Procter & Gamble brand manager who's pursuing his dream of being an Opera singer. He took the plunge for the first time in 1995, taking vacation time to sing in the chorus for Cincinnati Opera's production of Aida. He performed in four roles around the country in 1999. His goal? To be "a whole person, nurturing the creative side along with a very analytical and logical side." Bravo!

Best Fighter (One-Man Division): Rob Fetters, better known to CityBeat readers as the leader of The Bears, The Raisins and the psychodots - plus a professional songwriter - took on Cincinnati Public Schools over its decision to close his son's magnet program at Quebec Heights Elementary in Price Hill. The Cincinnati Academy of Math and Science, CPS board members said, wasn't up to snuff on math and science test scores, so the program was being eliminated. Fetters protested that school officials and board members had no idea what was going on at CAMAS. When CPS Superintendent Steve Adamoski finally visited it for the first time, he called the school the best example of team-based teaching he'd ever seen. But the program was shut down anyway.

Best Fighter (Team Division): The Hyde Park residents who protested Summit Country Day School's decision to tear down the Piatt-Grandin House, a neighboring structure the school had purchased. Led by Mary Ann Wendling, Richard Hunt and others, the school's neighbors fought (unsuccessfully) to preserve their street's historic character.

Best Fighter (Artist Division): Artists for the Drop-Inn Center, which organized against plans to remove the homeless shelter for construction of a new arts complex adjacent to Music Hall. Originally put together by Barbara Wolf, Dale Hodges, Shawn Womack and others, the group wanted the OTR community to know that many Cincinnati artists remained concerned about the homeless there despite the Cincinnati Pops' Erich Kunzel's push to move the Drop-Inn Center. The whole issue remains unresolved, but the artists have stayed involved.

Best Stand-Up Guy for Jazz: Dale Rabiner, who started J Curve Records in 1997 to record and publicize Cincinnati's wealth of Jazz talent. Among the outstanding local artists who've recorded for Rabiner are William Menefield, Kenny Poole, Phil DeGreg, Mike Wade and Patrick Kelly.

Best Music Brain: Darren Blase, who runs Shake It Records, the local label that's helped Cincinnatians rediscover their heritage of Hillbilly, Punk and authentic Rhythm & Blues. Known around town as the eerily knowledgeable King Records aficionado, he's also the area's most astute student of non-mainstream music under the age of 50. After the success of his label, he and his brother opened Shake It Records, the Northside retail store that's the manifestation of the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition - all musical creatures great and small residing in bins side-by-side.

Best Role Model (Individual Division): Sister Alice Gerdeman, who runs the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center in Over-the-Rhine. CityBeat named her Greater Cincinnati Person of the Year for 1999 for her untiring, selfless work on behalf of economic, political, racial, legal and social justice for all. She particularly focuses her efforts (workshops, education, protests, lobbying) on workers rights, anti-war and anti-death penalty causes. Her uplifting message is that individuals can and must make a difference in their communities.

Best Role Model (Group Division): Cincinnati's chapter of the League of Women Voters, who push and pull local citizens into thinking big about issues from campaign finance reform and mayor/city council reform to strategic regional growth planing and mass transit. Their nonpartisan voter education forums and publications are outstanding - and sorely needed by an electorate anesthetized by cynical politicians and the media. League of Women Voters, 103 William Howard Taft, Mount Auburn, 281-8683.

Best Role Model (Old Guy Division): Former Ohio Gov. John J. Gilligan, who came out of elective political retirement to run for (and win) a seat on Cincinnati's school board last fall. As Governor, U.S. Representative and City Councilman in the 1960s and 1970s, his legacy of public service was set, but the city's school funding and leadership crisis lured him back into the spotlight.

Best Ink-Stained Wretch: Robert J. Bryan, president of Graphic Communications International Union Local 20N, the union that represents about 100 pressmen at the Queensgate facility that prints The Enquirer and The Post. Bryant, a retired pressman himself, battled Gannett - owner of The Enquirer and the presses for both papers - for more than a year to get a new contract to hold the wage scale and benefits the workers already had. He spoke at Gannett shareholder meetings and wrote letters to company directors like former First Lady Rosalind Carter. Gannett and the union finally signed a new contract in January.

Best Hope for Corryville: Lamont Taylor, the 27-year-old president of the Corryville Community Council, who tried last summer to broker some sort of truce among area business owners, Cincinnati Police and the hundreds of youths who mingle on Short Vine on weekend nights. He originally pushed a sort of street festival with paid admission, but the idea fell flat. Short Vine, the undisputed center of Cincinnati's counterculture universe, still is teetering, but Taylor has managed to bring all sides together for the first time to deal with the problems.

Best 'Thank You for Saving Our Asses But We Don't Need You Anymore': Dr. Albert B. Sabin, who helped pioneer a cure for polio while at the University of Cincinnati and for whom Cincinnati's downtown convention center is named. Delta Air Lines, which helped pioneer price gouging for local travelers, agreed to pay the city of Cincinnati millions of dollars for naming rights to the center (current one and the hoped-for expansion). See ya, Doc!

Best Friend to Teachers: Not your typical educational supply outlet, Crayons to Computers is a free store serving needy teachers in the eight-county radius. A project supported by dozens of major corporate sponsors such as Federated Department Stores, the store is run by an unpaid staff - often the very teachers who've benefited by the store in the past - who work the front desk or clean and repair donated cast-off computers. Talk about your volunteers with a hard drive. Teachers from needy schools are welcome to shop, at no cost, for donated computers and all other supplies on the store shelves (which include paper, textbooks, maps and, yes, crayons). Crayons to Computers, 1250 Tennessee Ave., Bond Hill, 482-7095.

Best Political Outsider: Marilyn Hyland, who never got the message that the local Democratic Party didn't want her to run for Hamilton County Commissioner. She bucked the system and ran in the primary against Todd Portune (who won). She stands out as someone who cares, who knows the issues, who listens to anyone with a gripe and who watches county government like a hawk.

Best Arts Advocate: Beth Sullebarger of the Cincinnati Preservation Association, who fought for years to get the Emery Theatre renovated. For a long time it looked like the Emery would be left by the University of Cincinnati to fall apart and die a slow death. The state abandoned plans to rehab it when a brand-new Aronoff Center emerged in the early 1990s. After a lot of behind-the-scenes work, the Emery finally is being worked on - although the theater itself won't be ready for another few years. Sullebarger got many other people onto the Emery bandwagon (corporate, government and media types), but she really deserves the credit for this dream becoming a reality.

Best First Amendment Defender: Local attorney Lou Sirkin, who in the past year represented Tip Top Magazine in Corryville against pornography charges while also defending Larry and Jimmy Flynt in their ongoing battles with Hamilton County. Sirkin pretty much wins this category every year.

Best Star-to-Be Who Stays in Cincinnati: Trumpeter/composer/arranger Mike Wade, who could be the bomb in New York or L.A. if he wanted. Where are all the player haters? Everywhere, once Wade's new CD drops. Rest assured, it'll be a complete left turn from Straight Ahead, his smokin' grooves of yore. Wade is turning the page but staying put.

Best Emerging Hero: Artist Shawn Smith, a machinist by night and a struggling, award-winning artist whenever else he can. Look for his name and his work in the coming year.

Best Friend of the Environment: Glen Brand, who runs the local Sierra Club chapter. Brand has inserted himself into almost every local issue that involves the environment - suburban sprawl, pollution, state and national legislation - in an effort to effect change. It's a daunting task to get Cincinnati's conservative politicians, corporations and populace to buy into his environmental agenda ... until he reminds everyone that he's the ultimate conservative - conserving our air, water and greenspace.

Best Staff: The folks at the Drop-Inn Center, who try to do anything to make things brighter for the residents there. When CityBeat's Holiday Issue profiled what Christmas was like for the homeless, the Drop-Inn coordinators talked about how much the little things mean to the residents and how they focus on the bigger idea of sharing. Very inspirational.

Best Religious Leader: No winner

Best Teacher: No winner

Best Fundraiser: AIDS Walk

Best Librarian: No winner

Best Local Activist: Jim Tarbell

Best Local Cause: AVOC

Best Local Hero: Jim Tarbell

Best Police Officer: No winner

Best Volunteer: Boomer Esiason
(Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)