Adele wasn’t the only award winner hoping to share her praise in recent days.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my neighborhood than at this moment,” Pike/Pine developer Liz Dunn told the crowd as she reflected on the wave of activism in the neighborhood at last week’s State of the Hill event held at Optimism Brewing.

The annual party from the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce recaps the year, looks ahead, and recognizes some of the neighborhood’s important and inspiring characters. This year, the business organization announced the launch of is campaign to wrangle enough support from landowners to create a $1.6 million Business Improvement Area stretching across Capitol Hill.

From Melrose to 19th, Capitol Hill Chamber launches campaign to create $1.6 million Business Improvement Area

The chamber also split its votes for the annual Spirit Award, recognizing Dunn and Jill Cronauer of Hunters Capital.

“Liz Dunn has contributed invaluable resources to Capitol Hill, from her leadership in reorganizing P/PUNC and efforts to strengthen the Pike/Pine Overlay District, her commitment to historical preservation in the Pike/Pine corridor and her work to develop Capitol Hill as an Eco District. She has developed nationally recognized adaptive use historic buildings in the neighborhood (the Melrose Market & the Piston & Ring building, for example) that salvage the historic nature of the Hill’s Auto Row history.” (Images: Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce with permission to CHS)

“Jill Cronauer, COO of Hunter’s Capitol and Past Chair of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, has contributed enormously to the revitalization of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Jill helped to balance growth and development within historical and current contexts of the neighborhood. She excels at bringing people together to find common ground and has used those skills to bring stakeholders together to create the Capitol Hill 2020 and the current BIA expansion work.”

“I cannot be happier to have two amazing, kick-ass women in this neighborhood recognized,” the chamber’s director Sierra Hansen said of the split vote.

Jeremy Borden, CEO of digital creative agency Substantial did the honors. This was the chamber’s seventh year presenting the Spirit Award. Previous award winners include: Jerry Everard (for his work with nonprofits and longtime support of Capitol Hill arts and culture),  Justin Carder (writer and publisher of the Capitol Hill Seattle blog), Catherine Hillenbrand (for her work with the Champion on Sound Transit TOD site), Kay Rood (as an advocate for Cal Anderson Park and creator of the Cal Anderson Park Alliance), Michael Malone (historic preservation and advocacy around Pike/ Pine) and Chip Ragen and Michael Wells (for their work as founding members of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce).

This year’s State of the Hill also included an appearance by Capitol Hill resident Mayor Ed Murray.

“This is where some of my biggest fans are and, I can tell you, some of my biggest critics,” Murray said of his home turf.

Murray also spoke of concerns about the Trump administration’s attacks on civil liberties.

“Just as Capitol Hill has been a sanctuary neighborhood, we will be a sanctuary city no matter what Trump says,” Murray said.