Alex Paul
They vary in age and by the type of volunteer services they provide for the community, but the Chamber of Commerce award recipients Saturday evening all share a deep love of Sweet Home.
Celebrated at the 61st annual Chamber fete were Kristin Horner Adams, Junior First Citizen; Tim McQueary, First Citizen; Coreen Melcher, Distinguished Citizen; Mary Sue Reynolds, BPW Woman of the Year and Beth Lambert, State Farm Insurance, Business of the Year.
Mayor Craig Fentiman said the city is appreciative of all the award winners. “Volunteers are the mark of our community,” Mayor Fentiman said. “They are, to a great extent, what have made Sweet Home what it is today.”
The 2004 awards were presented by last year’s recipients. The event was held at the Boys and Girls Club under the them “Sweet Home–Heart of the Willamette.”
Kristin (Horner) Adams
Junior First Citizen
Presented by Wendi Melcher
Kristin Adams is first and foremost a good mother, which she admit is one reason she tries so hard to make Sweet Home a better place.
Extremely talented, Adams is an SHHS and OSU graduate. She was active in many things at SHHS as well as county-wide through 4H.
Although she has accomplished many of her dreams, she failed at one…growing to be a 6′ pro basketball player.
She and her husband Mike, the city’s public works director, have four children, Brett, Jared, Ryan and Kenzi and recently completed a remodeling of their home, which Adams enjoys filling with antiques.
In addition to working full-time at the Sweet Home Junior High, Adams also owns a business, “Oh, Imagine That!” which creates promotional people.
Her family is active at the Assembly of God church, she is an integral part of the annual Boys and Girls Club auction, is president of the PTC at Oak Heights school and for two years coordinated the city’s summer parks and rec program.
“She is an amazing person and a great and true friend,” Melcher said of the award recipient.
Tim McQueary
First Citizen
Presented by Steve Hanscam
He leads in a quiet and analytical way, truly loving his community and giving to it in both time, talent and funds.
Born in Portland, McQueary’s family moved to Sweet Home when he was nine in 1953. His father, Hobert, was a leader in the development of fiberboard products.
McQueary’s active volunteerism can be traced to his high school years, graduating from SHHS in 1962.
He and wife Jo Ann married in 1968 and among many adjectives, describes her husband as “gentle, friendly, dependable, generous, quiet, honest, trustworthy, a leader and follower, a team player and an all-around excellent guy.”
McQueary can analyze a project and then see it through to fruition many years later.
“Three charming little girls have adopted him as ‘Grampa’,” Hanscam said. “They learned very early in life that simply blinking their eyes and saying ‘oh please Grampa’ would get them just about anything their little hearts desired. All three could recite his VISA card number before they learned their address and phone number.”
Although he started his working career in his father’s business, McQueary spent 36 1/2 years in the rare metals industry, recently retiring as manager of powder metallurgy.
His list of volunteer activities is long…city council for 10 years, including two terms as mayor; Council of Governments area commission on transportation, Oregon Community Foundation, Sweet Home Beautification projects and the Planning Commission.
He has served as both president and vice president of the Sweet Home Economic Development Group, Inc. and was a founding member of the Sweet Home Community Foundation. He also has served on the school district’s budget committee.
“With his recent retirement, many groups will be after our 2004 First Citizen for even more of his level-headed direction and expertise,” Hanscam said. “They will, however, have to share his new freedom and time with his lovely wife, JoAnn, who has supported and encouraged his efforts since 1968.”
Coreen Melcher
Distinguished Service
Presented by Gail Gregory
It seems as though she’s everywhere, especially if it’s good for Sweet Home’s children.
Coreen Melcher “has represented my ideal of a true volunteer for many years” Gregory said.
She helped start the successful SAFE (Senior Alcohol Free Entertainment) program each year for SHHS grads, helped create the all-school reunions in 1993 and 2000, is a charter member of the Sweet Home Alumni Foundation, helped with the development of the Jim Riggs Community Center, has been a long-standing key volunteer at the Oregon Jamboree, supports the Boys and Girls Club extensively, has supported the annual Logger’s Olympics and Sportsman’s Holiday courts and has been a major force behind the Sweet Home Booster Club.
She also works toward developing the next all-school reunion, maintaining a logging business with her husband Jim and continues to work full-time at Sweet Home High School “where she gives generously above and beyond her job.”
Mary Sue Reynolds
BPW Woman of the Year
Presented by Dianne Shank and Candy Snyder
Although she was born in Idaho, Mary Sue Reynolds is a Sweet Home woman through and through.
An SHHS and LBCC graduate, Reynolds loves kids, one reason she has worked at LBCC for more than 20 years, currently director of the Sweet Home center.
Her own home includes five children, but she and husband Richard, welcome any and all young people and give generously of their time and talents to work with kids activities ranging from the dance team to the football field. If it’s good for Sweet Home’s kids, the Reynolds can be found helping in one way or another.
Last winter, Reynolds chaired the Trees for Scholars program that generated $7,000 for local scholarships. She served on the Sweet Home Alumni Foundation board of directors, chairing the scholarship committee. Some 36 scholarships were awarded in 2004. She is the education chair for PEO Chapter FA, has volunteered at the Jamboree, the Logger’s Olympics and has chaperoned the Sportsman’s Holiday court many times.
Reynolds enjoys camping, traveling and home improvement projects and is active at the Community Chapel.
Beth Lambert
Business of the Year
Presented by Ed Spencer
A Sweet Home business owner for five years, Beth Lambert of State Farm Insurance has jumped into community support from the start.
Lambert serves on the board of directors for the Sweet Home Economic Development Group, Inc., supports the Boys and Girls Club and its annual auction, supports Sportsman’s Holiday and the annual community Halloween trick or treating and Christmas parade events.
She chairs the Downtown Revitalization Committee and has been active in the local Kiwanis Club as well as her daughter’s dance team at Sweet Home High School.
“This person has been very helpful and inspiring to me,” Spencer said of the 2004 award winner.