By Melissa Wagoner A popular place to be on Wednesday nights is at the First Christian Church’s Community Dinner, a gathering spot for those living in and around Silverton. It is paid for through donations, but free to those in need. Founded by Pastor Steve Knox and a group of “founding ladies,” nearly 150,000 dinners have been served at the […]
The Silverton Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients of the 2014 community awards to be presented at the chamber’s annual First Citizen Banquet, this year scheduled for Feb. 28 at the Mount Angel Festhalle. Jane Jones, a community volunteer, is the First Citizen. Silverton High senior Valeria Vazquez-Trejo is the Future First Citizen. Distinguished Service award will go to Marta […]
By Don Murtha After a lifetime of community service, Mount Angel’s former Mayor Rick Schiedler is ready to sit back and enjoy playing with his four grandchildren, working in his woodshop and being outdoors. “I’ve always been involved since I was a kid and picked corn for my parents for the Oktoberfest booth,” Schiedler said. “It was my parents’ philosophy […]
By Brenna Wiegand He’s amiable, driven – and a little dangerous. Not long into a conversation, he has you thinking about signing up as a volunteer for Mount Angel’s Oktoberfest. That’s John Gooley, Mount Angel’s 2012 First Citizen. Gooley and fellow community award recipients will be honored at Feb. 25 at the Mount Angel Festhalle. Gooley’s decades of tireless volunteerism […]
The Mount Angel Chamber of Commerce has announced the 2012 winners who will be honored at the 30th annual First Citizen Banquet on Feb. 25: First Citizen – John Golly Volunteer of the Year – Verna Scharbach Business of the Year – Mount Angel Towers Lifetime Achievement – Orville Roth Future First Citizen – Sadie Manley Service to Youth – Randy […]
By Brenna Wiegand Silverton resident Mark Holland credits the success of his business to his employees. “All of my people have got many, many years of experience and therefore I have complete trust in their decisions,” Holland said. “I don’t have to watch over anybody because I know they’re going to do exactly as I would – do the correct […]
By Brenna Wiegand Richard Carlson will receive the Silverton Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Service award for a feat that may well go down in Silverton’s history. He has the distinction of leading an effort to save Homer Davenport Days from extinction – twice. His first rescue was linked to the eight months he spent helping navigate the Silverton Chamber of […]
By Kristine Thomas Verlene Beard is quite certain her friends and family “don’t have a clue” what she does on a given day. They just know she’s always busy and if they want to reach her to not to call her home phone, because she won’t be there. “They know to call my cell phone first,” she said, laughing. “It’s […]
By Steve Ritchie Brianna Bledsoe thought that nominating her father, Dixon, for Silverton’s First Citizen Award was a good idea. In the process of nominating her dad, a local realtor and the director of Silverton Area Community Aid, Brianna found out she wasn’t alone. “I felt he was everything a First Citizen should be,” Brianna explained. “He is really focused […]
Angel Cardenas knows achieving his goals to be the first in his family to graduate from high school and attend college and become a pediatric dentist requires two things – hard work and dedication. That’s why he has volunteered in his community, maintained a 4.0 grade point average and participated in school activities.
According to the old jingle, Pepsi Cola “hits the spot,” and Pepsi hit the spot with the Mount Angel Chamber of Commerce, which awarded the local plant the Business of the Year award. “We were totally surprised,” said Al Fiedler, Pepsi plant manager in Mount Angel. “We never in the world expected it.”
The first thing Teresa Bryant, Marilyn Hall and Bev Fleckenstein say about receiving this year’s Mount Angel Chamber of Commerce’s Helping Hands Award is “Nann should be in here with us!” Their theory is that Nann Fleck figures she got her due when she and husband Don received the First Citizens Award in 2003 and nominated her dedicated cohorts for this award.
Rarely is Maureen Ernst speechless. She developed a serious case of tongue tied when she was presented with the Mount Angel Chamber of Commerce’s 2010 First Citizen award. “I was shocked,” she said. “I looked at the list of all the people who have received this award and I am not in their category. People who know me know I volunteer because I like doing stuff behind the scenes and I like making other people look good.”
Silverton Chamber of Commerce has chosen Douglas and Antonia Jenkins to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at Silverton’s First Citizen Banquet Feb. 19.
J’Nyssa Baker is addicted to community service. The 17-year-old Silverton High School senior’s volunteer work includes teaching preschool at her church, Trick-o-Treating for UNICEF, participating in food drives for Silverton Area Community Aid, assisting in a coin drive to raise funds for the Tree of Giving and working with Habitat for Humanity.
Suzie Couraud was sitting in her shop when she received probably one of the most surreal surprises of her life.
“I’d just gotten back from a couple weeks in London and was experiencing jet lag,” Couraud said. “I was sitting in the shop and in came this group of people carrying a bunch of balloons. It was kind of like Publishers Clearing House.”
Terry Thomas once believed he didn’t have the necessary skills to make a difference. His first volunteer project was leading a project to get lights for the softball field his church team played games on.
City council, chamber of commerce, YMCA, Ford Family Leadership Program, Silverton Together, economic advisory board… The list goes on. Who can do so much and be so involved?
Six Silver Falls School District employees will be recognized as Employees of the Year at the First Citizen banquet Feb. 20.
By Steve Ritchie Apathy bothers Alex Morrissey. A lot. “I can’t stand to just sit back and watch what is going on without being a part of it,” said Morrissey, who was recently selected Mt. Angel’s Junior First Citizen for 2009. “I take a lot of pride in Mt. Angel and Kennedy High School. “People used to tell me, ‘Just […]
Members of the Mt. Angel Volunteer Fire District will receive the 2009 Volunteer Organization of the Year Award at the Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce First Citizen Awards Banquet Feb. 22 in St. Mary’s Parish Hall.
Mt. Angel’s 2009 Business of the Year is really several businesses rolled into one and stuffed in sausage casing. Mt. Angel Sausage Co., 105 S. Garfield St., makes sausage; sells sausage, sauces and nuts online and at its pub restaurant; and is a catering service as well as a concession provider at fairs, festivals and sporting events.
Jim Schaecher, a retired partner of Butsch Insurance Agency in Mt. Angel, takes his community as a matter of course. Not so his peers, who considered his efforts worthy of his being chosen Mt. Angel’s 2009 First Citizen.
Once a year, the citizens of Silverton gather to recognize their neighbors and associates for community service. This year the 39th annual Silverton Chamber of Commerce First Citizen Banquet begins at 5:45 p.m. Feb. 20 at The Oregon Garden. Tickets, $35, are available at the Silverton Chamber of Commerce, 426 S. Water St.
By Cambria Roth Last year, John F. Kennedy High School senior Stephanie Jones, received a heart-wrenching phone call, that her close family friend, Jordan Dark, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma. For her senior project, Jones decided to put together a barbecue benefit to raise money and generate support from the community. This small course of action soon turned into […]
