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Sandy Keith Downtown Impact Award

In downtown Rochester, we are fortunate to have so many people, organizations, businesses, and initiatives dedicated to making downtown a better place to live, work, lead, invest, eat, sleep, play, heal, learn, grow, and more.

The late A.M. “Sandy” Keith was one of those people. Sandy was the driving force behind the genesis of the Rochester Downtown Alliance (RDA) back in the early 2000s. To honor Sandy’s work and encourage more people to explore ways to make an impact on downtown, the RDA created the “Sandy Keith Downtown Impact Award.”

This award is presented to a person or group whose efforts have made or are making a substantial impact on the downtown community. The goal is to recognize those who continue to demonstrate passion for urban growth and community development and encourage others to do the same.

The inaugural “Sandy Keith Downtown Impact” Award was given to Sandy himself in 2017.


Past Sandy Keith Downtown Impact Award Recipients

  2023: John Kruesel of John Kruesel's General Merchandise
  2021: Shawn and Michelle Fagan of Fagan Studios
  2020: Terry Spaeth and the late Gus Chafoulias
  2018: Cafe Steam and Ardell Brede
  2017: Sandy Keith