ONTARIO – The annual Ontario Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet honoring local citizens is right around the corner.
The event is set for Friday, Jan. 10, at Four Rivers Cultural Center. Tickets are $55 each.
The activities kick off at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour and dinner starts at 6:30 p.m.
The annual event honors what the chamber terms “distinguished” citizens in the Treasure Valley.
The honorees announced on Thursday, Dec. 12, include:
•Man of the Year – Howard Benson, the Malheur Enterprise’s retired business manager and longtime chamber volunteer. Before his time at the Enterprise, Benson was chief executive at Malheur Federal Credit Union in Ontario for about three decades. He retired in 2012.
•Woman of the Year – Joni Delgado, a Valley Family Health Care board member and executive director of Elderberry Lane, a camp that provides equine therapy for children with varying abilities.
•Educator of the Year – Emiliano Beagarie, a longtime Ontario School District teacher. Beagarie in October was honored as the Oregon Migrant Education Program’s Teacher of the Year and is a language development coach and summer school instructor.
•Ag Business of the Year – Malheur Experiment Station at the OSU Extension Service for Malheur County. According to OSU’s webpage, the experiment station conducts yearly crop trials and publishes the results in an Annual Report. That work has led to innovations in agriculture in Malheur County, the website noted. The station is headed up by Stuart Reitz, the station’s director.
•Business of the Year – Halcom Insurance in Ontario. The business is owned by longtime residents Brian and Fran Halcom, both are involved in several community organizations, including Four Rivers Cultural Center.
News tip? Send your information to Steven Mitchell at [email protected].
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