Friday, April 16, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5 Nominations open for CEDR awards GUEST COLUMN KEVIN LEAHY What a year 2020 was. This past year has been like none of us have seen in our lifetime. The pan- demic raged for most of the year, with periods of total business shut- down in the spring of 2020 that impacted businesses of all sizes, and other periods which we are still going through with a roller coaster of restrictions, closures, reduced capacities, venue and events closures, and much more. This was done to keep our citi- zens and communities safe, and as we continue the economic recov- ery and vaccinations are becoming more widely available, we want to take the time to celebrate the resil- ience of our business community, and the entrepreneurs who had success against all odds. We look to honor leaders who stood above the crowd within their individual business, or were visionary in supporting the busi- ness community in actions and deeds. We look to recognize a busi- ness, as a whole, that has demon- strated remarkable achievement in any of these following areas: cus- tomer service, economic impact, innovation, job creation/retention or service (on the part of the busi- ness) to the community. There will also be a “Spirit of Business” award, the community supporter award, which recog- nizes an organization of any type (nonprofi t, service organization, government entity or the like) that has gone above and beyond to sup- port the economic vitality of the region. Businesses of all sizes will receive equal consideration. For purposes of the nominations, we have categorized a new business as one that has been open for busi- ness less than two years, a small business is one that has between 1-10 employees and a large busi- ness has more than 10 employees. Past CEDR award winners are a who’s who of businesses through- out the entire county. (Prior win- ners can be nominated, too!) This information for this free event, thanks to our generous sponsors. Next steps? Nominate a busi- ness, a leader or an organization for the spirit of business award. Self-nominations are welcome! To access the nomination form, visit clatsopcc.edu/community resources/cedr. Click on the online form (pre- ferred) or print the nomination form and mail to CEDR. Details are on the form. IMPORTANT! There must be at least one let- ter of support to go with each nomination. All nominations must be received by April 30. For any questions, email us at cedr@clatsopcc.edu or call 503-338-2402. is the only county-wide business recognition event, which normally rotates around the county year to year and is an opportunity for business owners, elected offi cials, leaders and citizens to get together to network and collectively cele- brate the winners and our diverse and robust economy. Businesses must maintain operations (primary or otherwise) in Clatsop County. Mark your calendar now for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. May 20. The for- mat this year will be a Zoom event, but this is still an opportunity to get together, albeit virtually. The awards committee is working to have this event be as memorable as always for the winners and the attendees. Advance registration is required. Watch for registration Pageant: Program returns after hiatus due to pandemic Continued from Page A1 events over the coronavirus. “As you can imagine, 2020 found us at a loss,” McShane said. “Contracts canceled. Loss of events. Loss of fundraisers. Loss of revenue. Our commitment to providing scholarships for women throughout Oregon remains steadfast, and we plan to off er over $300,000 in scholarships for young women across Oregon.” This year’s program will include the Miss Ore- gon Parade through down- town Seaside, an annual event interrupted last year. “This year’s theme will be ‘mask-parade’ and all of our candidates will be wearing masquerade masks, in order to fi nd a fun way to cele- brate COVID in style, and hopefully send this pan- demic on its merry way. The Rose City Corvette Club has already stated that they can’t wait to mask up and drive our candidates in a tradition that is decades old.” The number of tick- ets available will be based on Clatsop County’s virus risk level at the time of the event. “We have a COVID- 19 task force that is cur- rently meeting to discuss the safest protocols to keep our candidates and vol- unteers safe and healthy,” McShane said. “We are requesting that each candi- date self-quarantine before arriving in Seaside.” Temperatures will be checked for those who enter the convention center. COVID-19 protocols will be posted on the schol- arship program’s website. “Of course, we’d love nothing more than for all COVID-19 restrictions to be at the lowest risk assess- ment during pageant week,” McShane said. “But we are prepared to have an enjoy- able event no matter what.” Katherine Lacaze Miss North Coast’s Outstanding Teen Sydney Rapp riding in Seaside in 2019. The Miss Oregon Parade is planned once again this year. NOTES Oregon State names winter honor roll Local students joined the 8,150 Oregon State University students to make the winter 2021 scholastic honor roll. To be on the honor roll, students must carry at least 12 graded hours of course work. In Cannon Beach, honor roll recipients included William R. Bene- field, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering; Annuka A. Brown, senior, majoring in human devel- opment and family sci- ence; Chance M. Gigui- ere, a sophomore majoring in computer science; and Zachary S. Hudson, a sophomore majoring in kinesiology. In Gearhart, Bradley McCabe, a senior majoring in business administration and Hunter L. Thompson, a senior majoring in forest engineering, were named to the honor roll. Seaside students to make the Oregon State University honor roll include Jacob J. Brien, a junior majoring in music studies; Parker R. Conrad, a sophomore majoring in computer science; Darren E. Garnett, a sophomore majoring in general engi- neering; Andrea B. Har- ris, a junior majoring in human development and family science; Heather S. Hirsch, a senior major- ing in microbiology; Gage E. Mergel, a sophomore majoring in music studies; and Anna M. Peon Marin, a freshman majoring in general engineering. Heart Month winners announced Columbia Memorial Hos- pital is presenting a check for $1,300 each to two Clatsop County organiza- tions, Bergerson Construc- tion and the Cannon Beach Conference Center, which both won the Heart Month AED contest held in Febru- ary by describing how hav- ing an automated external defi brillator would help their organizations. This is the second year the hospital has held the contest. More than 10 entries were received. The two winners were chosen by the lead- ership of the WomenHeart group, which meets every month to support women who have or are at-risk for heart disease. 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