Changes afoot: Community award nominations due Feb. 4

By Mary Owen

A recent outreach to community members regarding the Stayton-Sublimity Chamber of Commerce’s Community Awards celebration came up dry, forcing chamber leaders to make some tough decisions on their own.

“We also e-mailed a confidential survey of members which got a pretty good return, but most said they attended just to support the Chamber and it had been several years since they attended,” said Mary Albert, chamber spokesperson.

According to Albert, the SSCOC board of directors reviewed several options before deciding to change the time of the Community Awards event to the April 4 Forum Lunch.

“The location is still undecided,” Albert said.

Other changes include focusing on fewer honorees. Stayton First Citizen, Sublimity First Citizen, Business of the Year, and Future First Citizen for Regis and Stayton high schools be highlighted. Farming enterprises will be recognized under Business of the Year rather than the former Ag Star category. The Man and Women of the Year award categories will be eliminated.

“Hopefully, if someone wants to see a different approach for the awards, they’ll step up and facilitate future events,” Albert said.

Albert believes the awards help focus attention on those who donate their time to community events and organizations.

“Everyone I’ve ever talked to, when they receive their award, says, ‘Oh, someone else deserves this more than me,’” she noted. “They are all very modest.”

In light of the “wonderful volunteers” in both communities, Albert said board members worked hard to find the right balance in defining the awards.

“The next step is to gather nominations,” she said. “We have received very few.”

SSCOC also welcomes selection committee members. For information, call 503-769-3464.