If it weren't for Sara Waddell Lewinstein, Gay Games II and all the subsequent Gay Games for the past two decades might never have happened. If it weren't for Gene Dermody, the board organizing the Gay Games might have disintegrated in political disarray a decade ago. Only fitting, then, that those two well known Bay Area LGBT sports leaders are among the six finalists for the Tom Waddell Award, the highest honor given by the Federation of Gay Games to recognize individuals who have inspired pride in sports, culture or volunteerism and devoted themselves to the success of the Gay Games.

The finalists for the Waddell Award were announced last week in an FGG newsletter. The male and female winners will be announced at Gay Games VIII this summer in Cologne, Germany.

The other finalists for the female award are Los Angeles chiropractor Jessica Seaton, a second time nominee; and Conny Kempe-Schalicke, an honorary member of the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation and a member of the Berlin women's sports group Seitenwechsel Berlin.

The other finalists for the male award are Brent Minor of Washington, D.C, a former president of the FGG and lead representative of the Washington Gaymes bid to host the 2014 Gay Games; and Brent Nicholson Earle, the founder of the Rainbow Run who ran a marathon of circles around the U.S. Supreme Court building in 1986 to protest that court's decision to bar the use of the name "Olympics" by the Gay Games.

Waddell Lewinstein, widow of Gay Games founder Dr. Tom Waddell, had to convince her husband that the original Gay Games in 1982 shouldn't be a one-shot deal. She called a meeting that drew 200 supporters, and the Gay Games Movement lurched forward – even as the advent of the AIDS crisis was striking at the heart of the LGBT community. She has remained a fierce advocate of the Gay Games ever since.

The Gay Games have been called a "life changing experience" by many, but for Dermody that would be a bit of an understatement. He left his tenured teaching job in New Jersey to move to San Francisco after wrestling in Gay Games I and is the only wrestler to have competed in all seven Gay Games, winning two golds, two silvers, and two bronzes along the way. He has served as president of Golden Gate Wrestling Club since 1986, founded Wrestlers WithOut Borders after the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver, and when members of the FGG's executive committee resigned en masse in 1998, stepped up as president of the organization. He has been the FGG's sports officer, its tech guru, and a discussion leader in forming drug-testing and sports inclusion policies.

"The paradox of being nominated now for the third time for the Tom Waddell Award is that instead of marking a logical end to my Gay Games involvement, each iteration just motivated me even more to stay committed," Dermody told the Bay Area Reporter . "I am already involved with and will definitely stay involved to see Cleveland through 2014, regardless of whether the third time is a charm or not."

Dermody, 61, was also a founding member of Team SF and served as its delegate to the FGG last year. As a member of the community advisory board for Eureka Valley Recreation Center, he worked to have the outdoor field named in honor of Rikki Streicher and the gymnasium after Mark Bingham. Streicher won the award in 1994. Other past Bay Area winners include Derek Liechty in 2006, Susan Kennedy in 2002, and Paul Mart in 1990.

"I have learned that the real satisfaction comes from the actual work, not the recognition of it," Dermody said. "At first I just felt obligated to just give something back to the Gay Games for freeing me from the coaching closet and giving me the confidence and pride to succeed in life. But I soon learned that helping others to experience the exhilaration and joy that I experienced in 1982 was addicting. In short, community service can be even more psychologically rewarding than even a St. Francis could envision.

"I hope I have set an example to others of what is possible when you believe in something strongly."