2019 has come to a close, and it is time for honoring a few select Johnson County residents with that most treasured of honors, the Salvos Salute.

• Jim Throgmorton: I want my mayor to be intelligent, compassionate, and progressive. Check! It has been a wonderful past four years. Iowa City needed Jim at exactly the moment he served. The city is headed in the right direction. Thanks, Jim – a rare two-time Salute winner!

• Bob Welsh: I wrote the following when the board honored Bob a few months ago: “I am not a young man, yet right around the time I was born, Bob began a crusade to improve the lives of Johnson County’s neediest residents. Over the decades, thousands of people have lived better lives because of his work. No one has given more to the ‘least among us’ than Bob Welsh.”

• Katie Roche: The campaign to make Iowa City “The Greatest Small City for the Arts” was a huge success, raising important money and awareness for the Englert Theatre, Filmscene and their many collaborations. It was also a showcase for one of Johnson County’s real treasures, Katie Roche. If you get an opportunity to work with Katie, do not hesitate. Whatever the project, you can bet that if Katie is involved, it is cool, fun, and the right thing to do.

• Jen Shearer: Bigwigs decided to put an end to the UI Labor Center. They did not anticipate the fight they got from students, faculty and workers from across Iowa. Had they reviewed the previous work of Jennifer Shearer, they could have seen it coming. Jen is not simply a rock star as director of the Labor Center, but a top-notch organizer to boot. Jen is also steady progressive voice on local matters.

• Janet Martin: Janet Martin is retiring from the Johnson County 4-H program after many, many years of quietly shaping our young people. Janet is one of those people that simply puts a smile on my face every time I see her. She really cares about our children, and really works hard.

• Mark Nolte: Mark recently announced he was moving to Moxie Solar after spending the past 14 years at the Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD). Under normal circumstances, someone working at this type of big business employer group would not show up in Salvos. But ICAD and Mark are exceptions. As the primary leader of our local economic development efforts, Mark has been thoughtful, innovative, bold yet practical, and ultimately, successful. ICAD is not your grandfather’s economic development agency – and that is a good thing.

• Mike Ryan: The people of Tiffin have had it very good for the past eight years with Mike Ryan on their City Council. Since 2011, Mike has brought his plainspoken common sense to the government of our fastest-growing city. Mike is the best example I know of combining progressive, populist politics with down home, Midwestern common sense. He is a smart, decent man who has done a thankless job well.

• Jon Green: I have often said that the toughest job in politics is that of small-town mayor. There is no administrator or superintendent to whom you can assign the work. Small town mayors chase down loose dogs, plow streets and take on the weight of their neighbor’s problems 24-7/365. In the case of former Lone Tree Mayor Jon Green, he not only accepted these burdens, but managed to get his community of 1,400 to begin thinking outside the box.