Polk County
Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 9, 2016 7A
Business of the Year
HAUGEN’S GALLERI / for Itemizer-Observer
Kevin Rogers, Roth’s manager, accepts the award for
Business of the Year from Scott McClure.
Personal Service Provider
HAUGEN’S GALLERI/ for Itemizer-Observer
Russ Cooper, Monmouth public works director, was honored with the Distinguished Service award for his careful
attention and work ethic, tenacity, and commitment to the community. His wife, Kelly, attended the event with him.
Celebrating service
Community Awards showcase Monmouth, Indy businesses, people
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
RICKREALL — The em-
ployees who work for Mon-
mouth public works have a
mantra:
What are we going to do
today?
We’re going to make Mon-
mouth a better place to live.
It’s that constant re-
minder that his job has a di-
rect impact on the lives of
the residents of Monmouth
t h a t Ru s s Co o p e r w a s
named the Monmouth Inde-
pendence Distinguished
Service Award winner at Fri-
day’s Community Awards
banquet.
“Twenty-five years ago, I
moved to this community to
be a student,” Cooper said.
“I’m honored to be part of a
community. The reasons I’ve
stayed here is because, each
day, I get to go into work and
invest in where I live.”
About 200 people attend-
ed the banquet at Eola Hills
Wine Cellars for the 51st an-
nual Monmouth Independ-
ence Community Awards.
Josh Brandt said the year
the ceremony started, 1965,
The Beatles released four al-
bums in one year; miniskirts
were at the top of fashion;
and the average house cost
$14,200.
Also in that year, Batman
premiered on TV starring
Adam West, and Star Trek
debuted.
Junior Citizen Anton Al-
varez was unable to make it,
but asked his teacher Frank
White to speak for him.
“Helping is part of who I
am,” he said in a prepared
speech. “Volunteering is a
way for me to help other
people. Volunteer whenever
and wherever you are.”
The festive, fun atmos-
phere of the evening contin-
ued by honoring the people
and businesses who make
HAUGEN’S GALLERI / for Itemizer-Observer
Bob Archer and his staff thanked the community for the
privilege of working with people and their pets.
HAUGEN’S GALLERI/
for Itemizer-Observe
HAUGEN’S GALLERI/ for Itemizer-Observer
Ed Alvarez, Anton Alvarez’s father, accepts the Junior Cit-
izen award on behalf of his son, who was out of town.
And the winners are
BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION AWARDS:
• Business of the Year: Roth’s Fresh Markets
• Retail Services: Roth’s Fresh Markets
• Food & Beverage Services: Arena Sports Bar & Grill
• Personal Services Provider: Ash Creek Animal Clinic
• Professional Services Provider: Oregon State Credit
Union
• Nonproit or Organization: Partnerships in Community
Living Inc.
CITIZEN AWARDS:
• First Citizen: Pat Jafer
• Distinguished Service: Russ Cooper
• Junior Citizen: Anton Alvarez
• Educator of the Year: Dr. Rob Winningham
• Education Support Staf Employee of the Year: Ryan
O’Malley
Monmouth and Independ-
ence great.
Julia Parks, of Arena
Sports Bar & Grill, accepted
the award for Food and Bev-
erage Service.
“We feel honored to be
Education Support Staff
here,” she said. “We wouldn’t
be here without the support
of our community, and our
amazing staff and cus-
tomers.”
Gerontology professor at
Western Oregon University,
Rob Winningham, won Edu-
cator of the Year. His wife,
NAME, accepted the award
on his behalf.
“Working at Western Ore-
gon University affords facul-
ty a great opportunity to
make a difference in stu-
dents’ lives,” she said from a
prepared speech.
Winningham created a
gerontology major and
minor at WOU and has
worked with seniors at the
Monmouth Senior Center to
help improve their lives. He
has written and published
books based on his research,
and gives students a cutting
edge experience in a grow-
ing field, according to nomi-
nations.
Ash Creek Animal Clinic
was named Personal Servic-
es Provider for the third year
in a row.
Bob Archer accepted the
award.
“Thank you for the privi-
lege of working with you and
your pets,” he said.
Roth’s Fresh Markets was
another repeat winner. The
grocer won Retail Services in
2014.
The voting and nomina-
tions are done online for
about four weeks in January
and February. The event is
presented by the Mon-
mouth-Independence
Chamber of Commerce.
For more information
about how to participate in
next year’s event: micc-
or.org.
Nonprofit or Organization
HAUGEN’S GALLERI/ for Itemizer-Observer
Joann Fuhrman accepts the award for Partnerships in
Community Living Inc., an active community partner.
Educator of the Year
HAUGEN’S GALLERI / for Itemizer-Observer
Rob Winningham’s wife, Camila Gabaldon-Winningham,
accepted the award on his behalf, presented by Cec Koontz.
Food and Beverage Service Professional Service Provider
HAUGEN’S GALLERI/ for Itemizer-Observer
HAUGEN’S GALLERI/ for Itemizer-Observer
HAUGEN’S GALLERI / for Itemizer-Observer
Ryan O’Malley said winning the award was a reflection
on the staff at Monmouth Elementary School.
Julia Parks and Miranda Garrison accept the award from
Sandra Paoli for the Arena Sports Bar & Grill.
Molly McDermond accepted the award from Miranda
Garrison on behalf of Oregon State Credit Union.