Freres Lumber Co. received the 2021 Community Applause Award, a statewide award sponsored by Oregon Business Magazine and Oregon Banker’s Association.
The Community Applause Award, which is given to an Oregon business in acknowledgment of significant service and contributions to its community, was presented to Freres during a banking industry event held Dec. 6.
Once a business is nominated an independent panel of judges reviews each nomination and votes on the winner. Since the award’s inception, 44 Oregon businesses have been recognized.
Mike Jaeger with Columbia Bank in Stayton nominated the Lyons-based company for this year’s award.
“We would not have the quality schools, hospital, library or most other amenities we currently enjoy, nor would we have the employment opportunities and overall standard of living we are afforded, without the presence of Freres in this community,” Jaeger said.
“We are so grateful for everything Freres has done and continues to do for this community.”
As part of the award, OBA provided Freres with a $1,000 check payable to the Santiam Canyon Wildfire Relief Fund in its honor.
The OBA also produced a video about Freres and its community involvement. To view the video, visit https://youtu.be/kYFTYm1J3rg.
In 2020, when devastating wildfires roared through the Santiam Canyon – including Freres’ company land – the Freres family came alongside Santiam Hospital to establish the Santiam Canyon Wildfire Relief Fund. Since then, SCWRF has generated more than $3.7 million to assist local families and businesses impacted by the wildfires.
“We were motivated to help because so many friends, neighbors and employees’ families were traumatized by the Labor Day 2020 fires,” said Rob Freres, president of Freres Lumber.
During the damaging ice storm at the beginning of this year, which once again wreaked havoc on homes and businesses in the Santiam Canyon, Freres said the company was “at the forefront, providing clean-up equipment and manpower to help restore the doubly-shaken communities.”
In addition, the company provided hundreds of thousands of dollars this past year to help build the new Santiam High School in Mill City and was a major contributor to a significant remodel of Regis High School in Stayton. Freres was also instrumental in bringing Family Building Blocks to the Santiam Canyon.
Founder T.G. Freres began a charitable foundation and a profit-sharing retirement plan in the 1950s to help improve the lives of friends and neighbors “with whom we work, recreate, and worship together as a community,” Freres said.
“Succeeding generations have never lost sight of T.G.’s generosity and thoughtfulness toward our Santiam Canyon communities,” he added.
In the company’s newsletter, Freres called this time of year a “season of gratitude.”
“We want to take a moment to reflect and shine a light on everything we are grateful for this year,” he told readers.
“We are also grateful for the creativity of our employees to create and build our own parts due to supply chain issues,” he added. “Their hard work and dedication have helped us reach so many of our company-wide goals for 2021.”
Freres thanked customers for their continued support and for purchasing the company’s products “during hard times,” and thanked the community for standing by the Lyons-based lumber company.
“We are blessed to be a part of this community and to live here,” Freres said.
“We were surprised and humbled to receive the Community Applause Award. Community service is very important to our family and company. We could not be successful without the countless efforts of our Santiam Canyon community members,” he added.
For almost 100 years, Freres Lumber Co., Inc., has been a major supporter of numerous regional projects. Through the Freres Foundation, nearly $175,000 is donated annually to community causes.
