The Annual North Mountain Lookout Awards

Has someone been looking out for you? Would you like to return the favor?

The Friends of North Mountain has an idea how to help.

We’re pleased to announce our Third Annual North Mountain Lookout Awards, and we’re looking for nominations. We’re on the lookout for the people in our community who have been looking out for you, or for others, or for the Darrington area community.

We hope people get into the spirit of this award, which was inspired by the gratitude and amazement we all feel at the way many people here in the Darrington area came together to restore the old fire lookout on top of North Mountain. Built in 1965, the lookout had fallen into disrepair by the early 2000s. By 2014, the nonprofit Friends of North Mountain was formed and began the labor of love to restore the lookout. Those efforts were finally completed in the summer of 2021, and we began making North Mountain Lookout available to rent overnight.

As a way of giving back to this community, we encourage you to think of the people in and around Darrington who have been “looking out” for others this year. Tell us the story of how they did so, and how they inspired you. Sell us on your story – we would love to see a friendly competition.

Make a nomination through the form below. 

The rules are basic: Nominees should live in the general area most easily visible from the lookout, essentially the Darrington School District, from Oso on the west side to Bennettville and Sauk Prairie on the north, and of course Darrington to the south. We can be persuaded to stretch these boundaries a bit if you’ve got a really compelling nominee with a nice local connection. Nominations should be in the form of a short story describing how this person was looking out for somebody or their community. A panel of judges will read through all the nominations and pick several winners. Prizes will feature gifts and/or services from local businesses, including a free night’s stay in the North Mountain Lookout in 2024, a $300 gift certificate from the Darrington IGA, and others.

Make a nomination by filling out the form below OR:

1.  Write your story, or tell us in voice recording, or a video, describing how they were looking out for others or this community. Make it good – this is what the judges will be using to decide the winners.

2.  Be sure to include in your nomination: Nominee's full name and address, contact info (phone and/or email), and age category (child, young adult, adult, or elder); nomination writer's full name and contact information; explanation of the nominee's "looking out" behavior (timeframe from 2021-present); justification for why this behavior deserves to win.

3.  Send the nomination to info@northmountainlookout.com

4.  Deadline for nominations is Sunday midnight, April 14, 2024.