Alex Paul
Mexican Fiesta was the theme for the 60th annual Chamber of Commerce awards banquet Saturday, as the community honored its most special volunteers.
Recognized for their commitment to the community were: Ed Spencer, Safeway, Business of the Year; Wendi Melcher, Junior First Citizen; Steve Hanscam, First Citizen; Gail Gregory, Distinguished Service Award and Candy Snyder and Diane Shank, BPW Women of the Year.
Business of the Year-Ed Spencer, Safeway
Presented by Larry Blem of Cascade Timber Consulting
“Although there isn’t enough time to get everything done, a good manager does the best he can,” Larry Blem said of Ed Spencer.
Spencer is a Sweet Home native and SHHS graduate who started community service as a Jaycee.
He went on to serve on the rodeo committee and the board of directors for the Sweet Home Economic Development Group, Inc. and the Boys and Girls Club.
“We are grateful that Safeway has been supportive of Ed and his many community activities,” Blem said. “Safeway contributes to numerous local groups such as SHEM, the Boys and Girls Club, the Senior Center and the Gleaners.”
Junior First Citizen-Wendi Melcher
Presented by Jim Cota
Although she was born in Eastern Oregon, this year’s junior first citizen moved to Sweet Home when she was just three years old and has buzzed about the community ever since.
A high school softball player, she attended the Air Academy in Salem after graduation and was a travel agent for the Horizon Air.
She married Scott Melcher 11 years ago and they have two sons, Nathaniel and Christopher.
Although Mrs. Melcher has a career in real estate, she is an active volunteer, starting with the Little Promises school program, VBS, and Sunday School at St. Helen’s Catholic Church. She was the church women’s club president and helps with numerous fund raisers. She is also active with the Foster school PTC and helps coordinate the successful Halloween carnival for the last three years.
Her loves of sports continues, as she coaches the Boys and Girls Club 11-12 year old softball team, has coached her sons’ soccer and baseball teams, sits on the board of the Boys and Girls Club as treasurer and the auction committee.
“Some of you might remember seeing her two years ago roller skating around the auction in her poodle skit,” Cota said.
Last summer she helped on the committee to reorganize the annual Sportsman’s Holiday Logger’s Olympics.
“If you were to ask any of her family or friends, they would tell you she is one of the most hard working and energetic women they have every known,” Cota said, “she always gets the job done.”
First Citizen-Steve Hanscam
Presented by Alex and Debbie Paul
A Certified Public Accountant by trade, Steve Hanscam has spent most of his life helping make Sweet Home a better place, quietly, but always there.
Hanscam spent 18 years with the volunteer fire department, as a volunteer on the rescue and dive teams.
Although he was born in a Eugene hospital, Hanscam is a lifelong Sweet Hometowner and SHHS graduate.
His wife of 15 years, Adele, said she was attracted to Hanscam because, “he’s a doer, a thinker, a man of action” although he’s abandoned some of his more adventurous activities such as snow skiing now that he will celebrate his 49th birthday on Saturday.
Hanscam has assisted with the annual fireworks show, sponsored numerous events as owner of a successful accounting firm, serves as assistant scoutmaster and as rifle merit badger counselor. He has assisted with four Eagle Scout project in the last four years and can be counted on to assist in any Scout project including the always successful Pancake Supper to be held Friday evening at Foster Elementary School. He serves as an assistant Scoutmaster and enjoys spending time with his favorite Scouts, sons Casey and Kyle.
The local Rotary Club can always count on Hanscam to assist with the Kid Care ID program, to help judge the Sportsman’s Holiday and Christmas parades and to cook burgers in the fund raiser wagon at local events. His commitment to the Rotary ideal is evidenced in his being honored as a Paul Harris Fellow.
Hanscam isn’t afraid of getting dirty, assisting with the annual city-wide clean up for many years.
One of his key activities is serving as an executive officer on the Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital Foundation.
“His wise leadership contributions help ensure continued health care for East Linn county in an era of constant change and when other small hospitals have closed their doors. We are told his input is greatly valued on that board as it is on the SHHS Alumni Foundation board, the traffic safety committee and at the Hillside Fellowship Church,” Alex Paul said of Hanscam.
A 1978 U of O graduate, Hanscam earned CPA status in 1980 and took over his father’s accounting firm.
He enjoys working around anything with an engine and wheels including three sports cars and last summer added a Harley Davidson motorcycle to his list of toys.
Distinguished Service Award-Gail Gregory
Presented by Mona Waibel
“Hard working, dependable, dedicated, tireless, amiable, gracious, respectful and cooperative spirit, talented, lovable,” those are just a few of the attributes of DSA award recipient Gail Gregory Mrs. Waibel said.
Born in Baker City, Mrs. Gregory taught in the Sweet Home School District for 35 years, retiring in 1993.
She and her husband reared two children and she volunteers as the Oregon Jamboree merchandising chair.
“It’s a big job,” Mrs. Waibel said. “It’s a nightmare of paper work but for an organized person, no problem.”
Mrs. Gregory, along with Martha Steinbacher, co-authored a pictorial photo book of East Linn county, called “New Life, New Land”.
She has helped sure grants for the downtown mural project and directed the painting of one mural in the basement of City Hall.
Mrs. Gregory assisted with the All-School reunion, worked with the historical program at the 100 year community celebration and the 1992 reunion.
Much of her volunteerism revolves around the East Linn Museum where she is a hostess and serves on the ELMS board and acting curator.
BPW Woman of the Year-Candy Snyder
Presented by Sara Johnson
A lifelong Sweet Home resident, Candy McFarlan Snyder was born into a family committed to the community. Her father, Earl McFarlan was the former City Attorney and her husband, Robert Snyder, is the current City Attorney.
A 1972 SHHS grad and 1976 OSU graduate, she became a teacher.
Married since 1981, she and her husband spend much time helping with local Scouting programs.
“They embody the values of Scouting and have given encouragement to other Scout leaders throughout Linn county,” Mrs. Johnson said.
Her list of activities with the Scouts is long: chair of the Blue and Gold banquet, pack committee member, assistant Webelos leader, National Quality Unit Award winner, recruited more than 100 boys to become Scouts, helped develop a Cub Scout Day Camp for Linn County, wrote an annual drama production for each year’s theme, as a junior and cadet leader for the Girl Scouts and helped with numerous community service projects.
Mrs. Snyder has been a member of the PEO Chapter DD for 21 years and has served in many offices for that organization including chairing the Linn-Benton County PEO chapters, to assist women in need of financial aid to continue their education.
Active in religious education at Hillside Fellowship Church, assists at SHEM and the church board.
For 20 years, Mrs. Snyder has painted the backdrop for the annual Chamber awards program.
She has been active with the community’s Drug Free program and Red Ribbon activities.
As the Crawfordsville kindergarten teacher she is known as someone “who considers the individual needs of every child, works to include parents and others in her projects and so sets a firmer base for their education.”
She is known to have an “on-fire” personality and has been called “ambitious, energetic, organized and charming.”
BPW Woman of the Year-Diane Shank
Presented by Patti Woods
If you want to get something done right, call on Diane Shank.
Although she works as the office administrator for the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District, Diane Shank spends many, many hours of her own time each year coordinating the annual Sharing Tree program that provides gifts to more than 500 needy families each year.
Mrs. Shank also assists with the highly successful Fire Med program, designing forms to be used by applicants, stuffing envelopes, creating a database to track participants and getting information out to the community.
When it comes to the Sharing Tree, “No job is too small or too large,” Woods said of the recipient. She does whatever it takes to make sure the program works and needy children have a good Christmas.
Mrs. Shank has a BA degree in art design from Youngstown State University in Ohio and taught art education at a small school in northeastern Ohio before she and her husband Doug moved to Sweet Home.
In 1979-80 she trained to become a paramedic, started as a volunteer with the department and in 1980 was hired full-time.
In 1988 she traded the life of a paramedic for that of motherhood with the adoption of the family’s three children, Helen, Chase and Amy, then 11, 9 and 5.
She returned to the department in 1992 as office manager.
“An additional part of her duty at the fire department is taking blood pressure checks,” Woods said. “Several of our community’s senior citizens go into the Fire Department to have their blood pressure checked and she always takes time to chat with them while she takes their blood pressure. She has built lasting friendships over the years with many of these individuals.”
An avid volleyball fan, she and Doug supported the Huskies and now the Western Oregon University Timber Wolves where daughter Amy plays.
Active at the River of Life church, she has headed up the nursery program for the last two year.