In this season of thanksgiving, as we celebrate family and friendships, we should also take time to thank the people, businesses and organizations that make our community tick. All year we attend functions that raise money for our nonprofit agencies so they can provide specialized services to our residents.
All year there are hundreds of volunteers in our community that help make these events happen. All year there are businesses that donate money, goods and services to organizations so the organization can be profitable.
And every year we want to thank some of these entities for the good they do for Pagosa Springs. Now it’s time for you to look around at family members, friends, co-workers, places of business that you frequent and organizations that provide needed services and nominate them for one of the following awards: Citizen, Volunteer, NonProfit and Small Business of the Year. In each of the categories, the person or business must have lived or been established in the community for three years.
For Volunteer and Citizen awards, the acts of service may not be a part of their regular work; it must be a volunteer activity. The big differential between the Volunteer and Citizen of the Year is in the Citizen category, the person or persons must have made a lasting impact on the community in one of the following categories: economic, cultural, philanthropic or lifestyle.
Examples of such selfless people include Evelyn Tennyson, Dan and Venita Burch, Bob and Robin Brobst, Dale Johnson, Lisa Scott, and Jack and Claudia Rosenbaum. These people have supported our community philanthropically, but many have given of themselves and improved an aspect of Pagosa as in Dale and Dan and Venita’s example in the cultural and lifestyle realm working with our youth. Who of your acquaintances would you like to nominate? Who has made an impact on our community and changed the way we do things?
As for the Non-Profit or Small Business categories, these entities offer services or give back to the community constantly. Examples of nonprofit winners are groups such as Vets for Vets, the Human Society, Seeds of Learning, Rise Above Violence, the Nordic Club and Habitat for Humanity. Examples of our Small Business winners are Pagosa Baking, Happy Trails, Rosie’s Pizzeria, Pagosa Mountain Sports, Growing Spaces, and Footprints. Each of these businesses provides excellent customer service, offers employee benefits or perks and gives back endlessly to the community. There are so many businesses here that meet the criteria. Why not thank them by nominating them as a Small Business of the Year?
Nomination forms are available on the Pagosa Chamber website; this link will take you to the various nomination forms. You can fill out that form, or write the nomination on a separate piece of paper. Nominations are due back to the Chamber by the close of business on January 13, 2025. The award nominees will be celebrated at our annual gala. This year the Chamber gala and Community Awards will be held on February 7, 2025.
You won’t want to miss this event. Think about putting a table together with colleagues or friends to enjoy the fun. More event information will be coming soon. Should you have any questions about the qualifications for any of the community award categories, please contact Mary Jo Coulehan at director@pagosachamber.com or (970) 264-2360.
Take a few minutes to say thank you; let’s honor and celebrate those people and organizations that often we take for granted. We don’t say thank you often enough. Let’s do so, now.