PORT ANGELES — Tireless volunteers Norma Turner, John Brewer and Christine Loewe are the nominees for the Citizen of the Year Award in the event organized by the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Six awards will be presented during the 3rd Annual Port Angeles Community Awards Gala at the Vern Burton Community Center at 308 E. Fourth St., at 6 p.m. Saturday.
In addition to Citizen of the Year, awards will be given for Emerging Business of the Year, Young Leader of the Year, Organization of the Year, Educator of the Year and Business of the Year.
Tickets costing $70 per person are on sale now for the black tie event at www.ChamberSignUps.com.
A plated dinner with a choice of a beef, chicken or vegetarian entree will be provided by a Taste of Port Angeles, and will also include appetizers, sides, and dessert provided by restaurants around Port Angeles.
The awards recognize “the community’s most outstanding individuals and organizations in 2019,” according to Marc Abshire, executive director of the chamber.
More than 120 nominations were received this year. The top three finalists in each category were selected by a panel of judges from the community at large. One winner from each category will be announced at the gala.
The finalists being honored this year are:
Citizen of the Year
• John Brewer, longtime former editor and publisher of the Peninsula Daily News, is past president of the Port Angeles Business Association and headed a N’orwest Rotary effort to restore downtown murals. He also stays in touch with the news of the day, frequently posting online to keep members of the community informed.
• Christine Loewe developed and manages the Franklin Garden Program at Franklin Elementary School.
The “Dennis Watson Spirit of TEAM Grant” of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA was her idea, as was Elevate Clallam, a group devoted to getting more women into leadership roles and promotes the Cranksgiving food bank fundraiser, as well as managing the Winter Ice Village website.
• Norma Turner, is the co-chair for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula $8.3 million capital campaign for a larger clubhouse in Port Angeles and serves on the Boys & Girls Clubs board.
She is the founder of “Prevention Works,” a community advocacy for youth, addressing homelessness, child abuse and neglect.
Turner is the past chair of the Peninsula Housing Authority and a founder and volunteer of MANNA (Ministry Assisting Neighbors in Need with Agape), a church-based community outreach program for families in need of help with rent, utilities and transportation.
Emerging Business of the Year
• Diehl’s Do It All, owned by Lindsey Diehl.
“This community needs more people like Lindsey, people who are determined to succeed, to get ahead themselves and willing to take the time to train people who have had a hard time to do something better, something useful, of value to others, something which gives them income and the experience to work their way up the job chain into more productive lives,” the nomination said.
• Heart & Passion Films, founded by Matt Sagen, tells the stories of nonprofits and businesses.
• Studio360, owned by Salina Treider, “is an inclusive and safe place for youth to grow but also a place that inspires the dancers to give back to our community,” the nomination said.
Young Leader of the Year
• Lacey Fry, the executive assistant at Serenity House, has organized community events, redesigned the website and contributed grant writing. She also is active in Shelter Providers Network and is the lead for this year’s point in time count.
• Addie Holland, a former member of the Port Angeles unit of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, now works as a paid junior staff member to help other youth.
She became the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula Youth of the Year, won at the state level and competed on the regional level in Hollywood, Calif. She volunteers to speak locally and gave the keynote address at the Boys & Girls Clubs’ annual dinner, where she helped raise $130,000. Holland also promotes the capital campaign for a new clubhouse.
• Ashley Liberty, co-owner of Availfit and Angeles Brewing and Taproom.
Availfit is a fitness establishment with the goal of helping women encourage one another, the nomination said. Liberty has started a program for high school girls to have a space to work out in a safe environment. She also has worked on fundraising the Boys & Girls Clubs, Olympic Medical Center and other charities.
Organization of the Year
• Lincoln Park BMX Association volunteers have increased participation at the Lincoln Park BMX track by 300 percent since it took over in 2017, the nomination said.
• Port Angeles Fine Arts Center showcases the artwork of the community in both its gallery and outdoors in the 5-acre Webster’s Woods while presenting workshops, free Shakespeare plays in the woods during the summer, the new Members Market and a variety of programs.
• Port Angeles Food Bank, which feeds more than 9,000 households a year, now allows clients to “shop” for their families using points they spend like money at a grocery store, giving those it serves a sense of accomplishment.
It also has expanded the Friday Food Bag Program to include Head Start youth, provide winter and spring break bags and partners with Peninsula College in the Pirate Pantry for financially strapped college students.
Educator of the Year
• Doug Gailey, who will retire as music instructor at Port Angeles High School this year, has led the band program at Port Angeles High School to taking numerous awards during his tenure, which began in 1993.
• Gary Pringle, principle of Hamilton Elementary School, leads by example, the nomination said.
Hamilton received the national Whole Child Award in 2018 and was a National Distinguished School recipient this school year.
• Krista Winn, physical education teacher at Hamilton Elementary, was the 2006 recipient of the National Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year award from SHAPE America and nominated the school for the Whole Child Award.
Business of the Year
• Angeles Electric, owned by Ken and Heidi Simpson, “is always there behind the scenes,” the nomination said, citing the firm’s support for the Lion’s Club, YMCA, Winter Ice Village, Hurricane Ridge Ski Program and other community efforts.
• First Federal “sponsors so many local events that it would be impossible to name them all,” the nomination said, while maintaining “a small town, community bank culture with a personal touch.”
• Swain’s General Store contributes to youth programs, provides solid living wage jobs and keeps the community stocked with about everything anyone could need, while providing excellent customer service, the nomination said, adding that the store is “a perfect example of a great hometown business.”
