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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2019)
8A | SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2019 | SIUSLAW NEWS Greater Florence Area B usiness Quarterly Siuslaw News’ Business Quarterly is a way to seasonally highlight local businesses and economic development updates. It will be published four times in 2019. To advertise, call 541-997-3441. To submit, email pressreleases@thesiuslawnews.com. Looking to the future with Florence’s First, Future First Citizens Winners will be named during Florence Area Chamber of Commerce’s Siuslaw Awards on Jan. 23 Dee Osborne Harlen Springer Audrey Lowder First Citizen Nominees By Chantelle Meyer Siuslat Nets T he Siuslaw Awards are fast ap- proaching, which means the nominees for the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce’s 11th an- nual prestigious business awards are preparing for a night honoring their service to the community. It also means that six area residents are waiting until the Jan. 23 ceremony to find out if they are the 2018 First Citizen and Future First Citizen. For First Citizen, the two nomi- nees are Debra “Dee” Osborne and Harlen Springer. The nominees for Future First Citizen are Audrey Lowder, Robert Mans, Samantha Scheer and Naomi Shoji. “The chamber puts on a great night with the Siuslaw Awards. It’s a lot of fun,” said Siuslaw High School Counselor Steve Moser. “People really get into it, especially when they are announcing the winners. You can tell it’s a huge deal to those people and organizations who are nominated. They take a lot of pride in receiving those awards.” Moser is an active part of the nomination process for the Future First Citizen, traditionally a Siu- slaw High School senior who has exhibited excellent leadership and community service both within the school system and among the great- er community. This year, in working with the chamber, the nomination process made the first fledgling steps in an effort to include Mapleton High School and area home-schooled students in the Future First Citizen category. Chamber President Russ Pier- son said, “We’re the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce and we have chamber members through- out the region, 350 members or so. We reached out since we want to expand beyond just Siuslaw High School.” While the awards committee did not ultimately receive applicants from those groups this year, it is ready to work with the next batch of students in helping them get recog- nized. “This will be the last year we do it this particular way, and we have some good thoughts moving for- ward,” Pierson said. Currently, Moser and other dis- trict staff and teachers nominate students they have gotten to know through academics, athletics and other activities. Moser noted the smaller staff at Mapleton may be unable to shoulder the additional workload of working with students. In addition, GPA plays a small role, which can pose a problem for homeschoolers, who do not always have a GPA. A new method of nomination will need to happen to allow for ei- ther self-nomination, interviews or outside nomination of students. Some parts of making this hap- pen are already in place as Siu- slaw’s ASPIRE seeks to expand its career- and college-readiness pro- gram into more of the region. In addition, many scholarships are already offered to both school dis- tricts, with information available on a flashdrive sponsored by Western Lane Community Foundation. The school districts hope to continue to share resources when possible. “So homeschoolers and Mapleton students, you’re on alert for next year,” Pierson said. “We want you!” The methods of getting nomi- nated are similar for both the First and Future First Citizen. Primarily selected by a group or organization, the candidate then gives details to help fill out the application. Gath- Robert Mans PeaceHealth Peace Har- bor Medical Center’s Dr. Stephen Kerner, DO, has been named PeaceHealth Medical Group in Oregon’s Outstanding Provider of the Year for specialty care, based on nominations from his colleagues. Kerner, who started at Peace Harbor 13 years ago, is the medical director for Hospice and Palliative Care. Two years ago, he and his team began a highly success- ful, community-based palli- ative care program that has bridged the gap for many patients who did not qualify for home health services and were not yet ready for hos- pice. The program has great- ly improved access to care Naomi Shoji — Future First Citizen Nominees — ered applications are then screened through the chamber awards com- mittee, which then announces fi- nalists. “We’re talking about ways to open that up a little more, too,” Pierson said. “Typically, the nomi- nees for First Citizen tend to come to us through organizations in the community — Rotary, Kiwanis, Soroptimists — who often will put a candidate forward, but it is pos- sible for others to find their way to nomination as well. For both of these awards, people can be a bit shy about participating. They don’t want to be self-promoting, which is why we have these helper organiza- tions, school districts or agencies in town help us get there.” Moser said he has also nominated past First Citizen candidates as well. “For the couple First Citizen nominations I’ve put in over the years, it is difficult as a lot of them are so modest the whole time. Typ- ically, that person who fits the First Citizen mold doesn’t necessarily want to be known for the things they do. Obviously they deserve the recognition, but if it was up to them, they themselves wouldn’t necessari- ly (want to be recognized). They’re just glad that something good is happening,” he said. The students Moser has worked with in turning in the first step of the application are often thrilled, even if they do not make it to the final stage. “Any of the students I talked to about nominating were happy with the nomination and the chance to be selected,” he said. “They’re all just really happy for each other, too, which speaks to the character of the type of student who gets nominat- ed.” Pierson added, “From the cham- ber perspective, we want to em- phasize that any of the nominees that are the finalists at the Siuslaw Awards are worthy and deserving. These are all winners. Obviously only one person or business is go- ing to win the award at the end of the night, but all of them are invalu- able members of our community who have been and are doing great things.” First Citizen Nominees Dee Osborne The Florence Rotary Club nom- inated Osborne for her more than 35-year record serving the Florence community. She is the branch man- ager for Banner Bank, previously Siuslaw Bank, which won the 2017 Community Caring Award at last year’s Siuslaw Awards. “For over 35 years, Dee has been a leader, collaborator, supporter and part of Florence and the sur- rounding community,” wrote Ro- tarian Lisa Walter Sedlacek in the nomination form. “Her strong fam- ily ethic in blue collar trades in our coastal town helped her understand the importance of jobs, strong local economies and families in having a strong community.” Osborne has served on the boards of Florence Rotary Club, United Way of Lane County, Western Lane Community Foundation, Oregon Coast Military Museum and Flor- ence Homebuilders Association, and been active on city and cham- ber committees and with Florence Area Coordinating Council, Boys and Girls Club of Western Lane County, Soroptimist International of Florence, Peace Harbor Medi- cal Center Foundation, American Cancer Society, Habitat for Human- ity, Siuslaw Outreach Services and more. She is also a founding mem- ber of the new Rods ‘N Rhodies Inc. “When asked why she does so Kerner named Outstanding Provider of the Year Dr. Stephen Kerner Samantha Scheer for the most vulnerable Physician of the Year Award ation, in recognition of his patients, thereby reducing from the Oregon Hospice work to establish the pro- emergency department vis- and Palliative Care Associ- gram. its, boosting home health and hospice referrals and improving end-of-life care across the care continuum. PeaceHealth Medical Group gave awards in four categories: Primary care, specialty care, helpfulness to colleagues and commu- nity service. Kerner was the only recipient from Peace Harbor. “He has had an outstand- ing reception from patients and families that need this service,” wrote one of his colleagues. “In short, if there was something that he could do to do a better job, I have no idea what it would be.” Wrote another: “Dr. Kern- er’s passion for this type of medicine has been evident to all those who work with him. He recognizes the value 179 Laurel Street - Suite D Port Hole Books of bringing compassionate Florence, Oregon 97439 FULL SERVICE BOOKSTORE! medical care to a patient’s home setting, thus he does New-Used - Rare Ph: 541-999-5725 all palliative care visits at a Special Orders - Book Searches Appraisals patient’s residence. This type Owner/Publisher: of care requires a level of Bestselling Author www.PortHoleBooks.com flexibility and patience that Email: info@EllenTraylor.com ELLEN GUNDERSON Dr. Kerner seems to exhibit TAYLOR Owner: ELLEND GUNDERSON on a daily basis.” www.EllenTraylor.com TRAYLOR In 2017, Kerner received www.EllenTraylor.com the Hospice Dream Team much for her community, Dee’s re- sponse is about family, … how she was raised to be part of our town, to give back and help make Florence a better place to live each and every day,” Walter Sedlacek continued. “Through Dee’s active leadership, financial education, hands-on par- ticipation and willingness to help with many diverse groups over the years, Florence has more dynamic services, better housing and a stron- ger sense of community.” Harlen Springer The City of Florence Public Art Committee and local business own- er Jo Beaudreau nominated Spring- er for his dedication to local art and downtown revitalization. Think of the area’s thriving art scene, and the name Harlen Spring- er often comes to mind. A spokes- man for several art and gallery groups, he often talks about the im- portance of public art and the pow- er of the “Wow factor.” “He is an exemplary citizen who is a natural leader and encourages the participation of his fellow citi- zens,” Beaudreau wrote in the nom- ination. Besides serving on the art com- mittee, Springer is active with the Downtown Revitalization Team and Florence Regional Arts Alli- ance. He also supports FlorenceF- est: Jazz, Art and Wine and its jur- ied art show. “Through Harlen’s dedication to Florence and the Siuslaw region, he has been able to raise cultural awareness, add to the beautification of our area and help boost econom- ic vitality by providing people and artists of all backgrounds an oppor- tunity to express their agency and citizenship,” Beaudreau continued. 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