By Pauline Masson –
When the Chamber of Commerce asks individuals to stand in front of their friends and acquaintances this week to accept a moment of honor they will join an illustrious group of individuals who have helped to shape our community, according to the man who started the annual awards program.
For the past 21 years the Chamber of Commerce has taken the time each year to single out the movers and shakers of our community for a special pat on the back.
Dubbed the Cooperative Christmas Social and Community Awards, this years’ event takes place Wednesday, December 14, at 5:00 pm at the Pacific Eagles, 707 W Congress.
Ed Hillhouse, who was president of the Pacific area Chamber of Commerce in 2001, said in a telephone interview last Saturday that he still sees the annual award program as the best thing the community does to focus on all the good that goes on in our community.
“In the beginning when we decided to begin recognizing individuals for outstanding contribution to the community we looked around at the individuals who seem to be out in front, it was a challenge,” he noted. “We said, here’s one. And here’s one. Actually there were way more truly active citizens than one might think. We decided it was time to recognize those people while they were still with us.”
By the time of the Chamber of Commerce annual dinner that year they decided the best way to introduce the new recognition program was to name an entire group of individuals. They created the “Pioneers in Business” award and invited all ten men to the banquet.
Lloyd Baker, Baker’s Ice; Dr. Ted Vargas; Jeff Hartman, Pacific Lumber; Harlan Bruns, Krogers; Leonard Unnerstall, Unnerstall Contracting; and Art Muehler, Standard Oil attended the event and accepted their awards in person. They accepted their awards with humility.
Ed Rau, Bob Schneider, Dr. William Jones and Dr. Gary Sattmann, could not make the event but were still honored.
“Maybe some people don’t want to seek recognition,” Hillhouse said. “But we knew that we as a community wanted to recognize them.”
Selecting a group of leaders – rather than one individual – for recognition each year was a pattern the Chamber of Commerce has followed.
“There are always people in our community who speak up for what’s going on here, for what’s good in our area,” Hillhouse said.
Within a few years of the program, the Chamber welcomed the Missourian newspaper recognition of local first responders, and the work of an outstanding police, fire and ambulance district officer was recognized at the annual dinner.
Soon after that the Chamber included the Pacfic Partnership recognition program in the annual awards celebration and the individuals who orchestrate the events that we celebate each year were added.
The individuals asked to stand for recognition represent the best hope for our community, Hillhouse noted.
“There have always been people who looked at Pacific and took pride at what was going on on our city,” he said.
Hillhouse said the last awards ceremony that he was able to attend held a special place in his memory. It was the year Nancy Omer, downtown business owner was recogmozed as a Pioneer in Busiess. And that was a particularly revealing evening because Nancy made a speech that put recognition of outstanding citizens in the light that was intended when the program began.
Instead of talking about her own laurels, Nancy gave a tribute to all the Pacific women leaders who had come before her and who had inspired her.
She said when she first heard that she was to recive an award as a Pioneer in business she thought it was a mistake.
“Pioneers are people who pave the way,” she said. “I knew the real pioneers of our city.”
Without looking at a single note and barely hesitating to take a breath, she offered a tribute to a group of Pacific women and their achievements in the preceding half-century. (See sidebar for complete list.)
These women were the real pioneers of our community,” she said. “While I was doing income taxes, they were doing thing that made our community what it is today.”
“Still,” she added, “it is a very sweet thing to be recognized by your peers.”
For Hillhouse, who went to to serve as Franklin County presiding commissioner and East West Gateway Council of Governments executive director, the Pacific Area Chamber of Commerce annual awards program creates a favorite memory.
“As long as we have people that we want to thank for making us the community we want to be, we’re in good hands,” he said.
