10 Most Fascinating Central New Yorkers of 2011: The results are in!

Published: 12/14/2011 3:37 pm

Updated: 12/14/2011 11:37 pm

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - With another year drawing to a close, NewsChannel 9 released its list of the "10 Most Fascinating People of 2011."

We asked all of Central New York to vote for the most fascinating person. Now, after hundreds of votes on our Facebook page, the full list is in.

Scroll down to see the results.

#8 (Tie): Ethel Barnes
Gold Star Mother who got her license plates back from the DMV
Ethel Barnes got Gold Star Mother license plates in honor of her only son who died in Vietnam in 1967. Although she pleaded with the Department of Motor Vehicles, she was forced to give up both plates when she took her car off the road. After NewsChannel 9 aired her story in May, elected officials got involved, and by June the DMV gave Barnes replacement plates.

#8 (Tie): Svante Myrick
Ithaca’s mayor-elect
Ithaca voters elected the city's first African American mayor in November, and at just 24 years old, Svante Myrick is the youngest mayor in the city's history. When inaugurated in January, he will also become the youngest mayor in New York State.

#8 (Tie): Breanna Stewart
Cicero-North Syracuse basketball star
C-NS senior Breanna Stewart is considered by many to be one of the top high school basketball players in the country. She was named to the All-Tournament team over the summer as Team USA took home the gold at the FIBA U19 World Championships.

#7: Tayla Kelly
CNY girl who appeared on Dancing with the Stars
A Canandaigua girl got the chance of a lifetime in May, when she performed in front of millions of viewers on "Dancing with the Stars." 12-year-old Tayla Kelly has been diagnosed with Primary Immunodeficiency and was included as part of a segment about people dancing through adversity.

#6: Cyndi Kelder, Jeremy Roberts and Guy Calandra
Three who helped save lacrosse player’s life
In June, sophomore Dan Cochran was hit in the chest with a ball during lacrosse tryouts and went into cardiac arrest. Rome coaches Jeremy Roberts and Guy Calandra performed CPR and Fayetteville-Manlius athletic trainer Cyndi Kelder used a defibrillator to revive Cochran, who made a full recovery.

#5: David Koegel
Saved neighbor from her burning home
At 4:30 a.m. on September 23, Koegel heard screams outside his Van Buren home. He went outside and saw his neighbor’s home was on fire. Koegel dove through a window to guide 79-year-old Kay Oldenburg outside to safety.

#4: Jan Maloff
Bike giveaway organizer
For more than 15 years, Maloff has organized the CNY Family Bike Giveaway, getting bicycles to hundreds of kids each holiday season, who would otherwise never have one.

#3: Bill Aris
Fayetteville-Manlius girls Cross Country coach
F-M won its 6th straight national title this year. Aris called this season his most challenging ever. His father died in November, and he had to bench two of the team’s best athletes due to injuries.

#2: Kayla McKeon
Bronze medal winner at Special Olympics
The lone representative for Central New York at the Special Olympic World Games in June returned home with a bronze medal. McKeon won for her performance in the bocce ball competition at the games held in Athens, Greece.

#1: Jay Wornick
Fulton man who lost almost 200 pounds
When Wornick made a pledge to himself to lose weight, he weighed 366 pounds and expected to drop 50. By early November he had lost 199 pounds through diet and exercise alone, and found himself in the national spotlight on Good Morning America.

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