Written by: Pamplin Media Group, Newberg Graphic

Chamber, city, service clubs, school district distribute awards at annual banquet Friday

Individuals, businesses and groups were honored Friday as the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards banquet at the Chehalem Cultural Center.

"The highest honor a person can receive is recognition by his or her peers," Chamber officials said in a prepared statement prior to the event.

Named Citizen of the Year was Alvin Elbert, owner/manager of A.R.E. Manufacturing. In a bio revealed at the banquet, Elbert was recognized for his commitment to contributing to the community through coaching sports, volunteering in the classroom and providing internships for youths at the company for that past 30 years. He has partnered with various organizations to help youths develop machining and work skills that can be utilized in the work force or kick off careers as machinists or engineers.

The title of Business Person of the Year went to Ben Jaquith, owner of a local agency of American Family Insurance. Jaquith, a Newberg native, is active in the community in a number of roles, including as a member of Rotary, the Newberg Downtown Coalition, Young Professionals of Yamhill County and co-chairman of the Newberg Downtown Improvement Plan advisory committee, to name a few. He engages his more whimsical self by providing karaoke during First Friday Art Walk and a booth during Tunes on Tuesday where he can be found crafting balloon animals for kids.

Recognized for his more than 33 years of service as director of financial services at Providence Newberg Medical Center, Spike Sumner earned the Edward Stevens Distinguished Service Award. Sumner, according to the release from the Chamber, was instrumental in the process of building a new hospital in Newberg and he has been involved with Newberg Noon Rotary for 30 years, including as past president and chairman of the Rotary Foundation Board.

The Chamber's New Business of the Year award went to Jac's Deli. Originally planned to be a healthy mini-mart located in an old service station on First Street, the business morphed into a deli as owners Joe and Betsy Fettig began renovations. The business employs family recipes, incorporates fresh local ingredients when possible and the menu items are named after family members and friends. Taste testers are recruited from teachers, car dealerships and officers from the local fire and police departments.

The Chairman's Award was meted to Lorie Wolff. The owner of One Horse Studio was recognized for volunteering for a plethora of events and organizations, including Brews & Barbecue, the Chamber golf tournament and the Oregon Truffle Festival. In her business she has gained notoriety for her decorative wall finishes and wine country murals erected in businesses like Subterra, the Barberry, Stoller Family Estates, Dobbes Winery and numerous private residences through the Willamette Valley. Her work as designer and project manager for the Chamber's new office also drew praise.

Her passion to make "Newberg a better place to live – in the schools, her church … and in business," resulted in Vida Ice being named the Volunteer of the Year. She has volunteered in both public and private schools since 2004, serving on site councils and task forces for the school district. She now serves on the Newberg High School Catalyst site council and was successful in securing a grant from cosmetic giant Arbonne to fund the school district's leadership program for several years.

Belying her youth, Junior Citizen of the Year Award winner Brooke Hansen has devoted her time to community activities for much of her high school years, including as a peer tutor, assisting teachers as a classroom aid, volunteering time as an AVID tutor and assisting in the My Future/My Choice program. She has also participated in high school volleyball and softball and last year volunteered to coach volleyball to two teams of seventh grade girls.

The Volunteer Organization of the Year award was delivered to A Family Place, a relief nursery and diaper bank begun in Newberg in 2013. The nonprofit, according to the Chamber release, is focused on building healthy parent-child relationships and is dedicated to preventing abuse and neglect, reducing foster care placements and strengthening the community.

School district recognizes individual, group

The Newberg School District annually distributes its Partner in Education awards "to an individual, business or organization that makes an exceptional contribution to education in our community," according to a citation read Friday evening. "This year we are recognizing both an individual and an organization that through their own initiative are addressing fundamental needs that make a critical difference in whether or not a student is successful in school. We're talking about food, clothing and a safe place to be outside of school."

Fitting that bill perfectly was Emily Chlumak, who after learning that one-third of Chehalem Valley Middle School students qualified for the federal free lunch program and therefore were considered economically disadvantaged, began Susan's Closet, a clothes closet and pantry open to students in need, no questions asked. Never part of a parent club until she agreed to lead one at CMVS, Chlumak "used her extensive community networks to engage parents and community members in supporting teachers, celebrating students and implementing initiatives focused on shifting the school environment to one of inclusion, respect and kindness," the citation read.

The second Partner in Education award was meted to Newberg Christian Church, whose volunteers annually perform work at adjacent Joan Austin Elementary School that includes spreading bark chips, building planter boxes, picking up trash and pulling weeds. "Each week church volunteers fill weekend food bags for JAES students to bring home to households where food is scarce," the citation said.

The church, in response to learning that many middle school students go home to empty houses when school is out, initiated My Zone, a free afterschool program open to sixth- through eighth-grade students Monday through Friday. "The program provides middle school students with structure, academic support, enrichment opportunities and, of course, food," the citation said.

Rotary clubs acknowledges winners

The Early Bird Rotary Club handed its Ken Austin Jr. Service Above Self Award to Frank Douglas, who recently retired after 22 years with the Newberg Fire Department and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. Douglas has been an active Rotarian for 19 years and has served in nearly every capacity in the club, including as past president. At the fire department he was instrumental in the department's Toy and Joy program, worked with a caregivers group at Providence Newberg Medical Center and was a SMART reader at Edwards Elementary School. He has coached Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth baseball teams as well.

The club's annual Norm Aldred Ethics in Business Award went to Kelly Hagglund, owner of a local realty business. Hagglund was recognized for her commitment to the community, high ethical standards, selfless acts and leadership within her industry.

The Noon Rotary Club Rotarian of the Year award went to Suzanne Miller, an active member of the joint Early Birds-Noon Peacebuilder Club committee and a participant in the Newberg Peace Village summer day camp for kids, as a member of the Newberg Peace Coalition and attendee of the Rotary International Presidential Peace Conference in 2016.

Kiwanis Club names top member

Jack Maxwell, an insurance agent at American Family Insurance, was named Kiwanian of the Year at the awards banquet. Maxwell has been an advocate of the One Place Diaper Drive, a supporter of the Special Olympics Summer Games, a consistent participant in Highway 99W clean-ups and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and Provoking Hope.

City awards delivered

The city of Newberg's annual Community Enhancement Awards went to George Fox University's Canyon Commons dining hall and the first phase of Old Mill Marketplace, a Stuart Brown development at the corner of Highway 99W and Elliott Road.