Wallace Chamber of Commerce award winners lauded during ceremony

WALLACE — The ceremony for the Wallace Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday was heralded by grill smoke outside the chamber office as members took part in a cookout ahead of community awards.  

Chamber President Brenda Johnson opened the awards by honoring past chamber president Valerie Finlay for boosting their organizational methods and community engagement through media and technology.

“As president, Valerie came on board with intentional concepts and brought new life to our chamber,” Johnson said.

Board member James Barnhart introduced the next winner as someone who worked her way from becoming an EMS scribe for local emergency calls in 2018 to taking on the “thankless and stressful job” of being chief for the Pritchard-Murray Volunteer Fire Department.

In addition to assisting with the management of her family’s Papa Murphy’s restaurants, Tanya Cavanaugh trained as an EMT in order to become one of the six EMTs for the department.

While accepting her Volunteer of the Year Award, Cavanaugh stated that her crew is fully made up of volunteers and their efforts make everything worthwhile in the community.

“We volunteer so life is worth it,” Cavanaugh said.

Courtney Frieh was announced as the Citizen of the Year for the chamber, with Finlay emphasizing her four years of work on the establishment of the mountain overlay district for Shoshone County.

“She has applied her expertise and her knowledge and unique skills along with hundreds of hours of work complimentary to our town, and that is a big deal,” Finlay said. 

Frieh praised the impact that volunteers have in keeping Wallace on a path toward the future while keeping true to its roots.

“It really does take a village,” Frieh said.

The Special Recognition Award went to Dennis O'Brien whom Finlay said was soft spoken but also “well-versed in corporate knowledge that is unsurpassed in Wallace.”

O’Brien keeps the books for several Wallace foundations, is treasurer of the Shoshone County Community concert association, serves as a trustee for the Idaho Heritage Trust and the Wallace Mining Museum board of directors, among other organizations. 

“He’s helped many organizations and individuals navigate the grant process to secure funding that benefits Wallace and the Silver Valley,” Finlay said. 

While accepting his award, O’Brien said, “It’s nice to volunteer with all of you people.” 

Wallace Brewing Company was honored as the chamber’s Member of the Year award winner.

Johnson presented the award and noted the company has made an indelible mark on the community, bringing in local landmarks in a way that excites people.

“They’re always touting various features of Wallace and keeping Wallace’s history relevant,” Johnson said.

Closing out on a look to the future, Johnson said she was excited for the course being charted by the chamber.

“It’s really important for us to support each other,” she said.

    Jill Lilienkamp accepts the Chamber Member of the Year Award on behalf of Wallace Brewing Company.

  

    Courtney Frieh won the Citizen of the Year Award through the Wallace Chamber of Commerce for her extensive work on the Mountain Overlay District, which was recently approved by the Shoshone County Commissioners.
  

    Wallace Chamber of Commerce Special Recognition Award went to Dennis O'Brien.
  

    Tanya Cavanaugh accepts the Volunteer of the Year for her work as chief of the Prichard-Murray Volunteer Fire Department.

    Valerie Finlay was honored with the Past President Award for her ability to tackle obstacles and help work towards a solution for the Wallace Chamber of Commerce.
  

  

    Wallace Chamber of Commerce president Brenda Johnson announces the chamber is honoring past president, Valerie Finlay for her efforts to update the chamber's memberships system and update its web presence.