Mt. Angel hands out awards

  • Published: 2/5/2010 3:50:01 PM
Photo By: Submitted photoJim Hoke
Henri Dill (left) of the Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce presents flowers to Jim Hoke, owner of Mt. Angel Sausage Company, which was named 2009 business of the year.
MT. ANGEL — James L. Schaecher, a partner of Butsch Insurance Company, was named Mt. Angel’s First Citizen by the Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce this week.
 
“He has served the community in a most outstanding and exemplary way for many years,” the chamber announced in a press release. “He retired from full-time work in 2006 but he continues to serve and contribute. He was a member of the city planning commission and a city counselor for eight years, serving for many of those years as council president. He was a volunteer firefighter for 15 years and he continues as a major booster of the fire department.
 
“He also served on the boards of the nursing center and the Silverton Hospital Foundation and is active in the life of his church.”
 
Alex Morrissey was named the Junior First Citizen.
 r /> “He is a smart, resourceful and enthusiastic young man who displays all of the traits associated with great leadership,” the chamber said. “He demonstrated many of these traits as he organized a group of nearly 180 people of all ages in the so-called ‘Do-Re-Mi dance,’ a surprise folk dance that gave the appearance to our Oktoberfest guests that it was spontaneous.
 
“It was however much more than that. It took lots of planning, choreographing, recruiting, training and coaching. He has risen to leadership positions in sports, in school and community, serving as president of the student body and president of the FFA and high school Habitat for Humanity.”
 
He has served the community as a counselor at Canyonview Christian camp in Silverton, as a volunteer at Oktoberfest, the Providence Benedictine Nursing Center, his church, at the training center on blood drives and a score of other activities.
 
Mt. Angel Sausage Company, a major sponsor of both Oktoberfest and Wurstfest, was named the Mt. Angel Business of the Year.
 
“No other business has done so much to improve their building and operations over the last year than this family business,” the chamber said in a release.
 
“The transformation of the old Mt. Angel Oil Company building into the Bavarian-themed Mt. Angel Sausage Company is an amazing accomplishment. The building resembles a Bavarian inn with its welcoming deck that is much appreciated by regulars and tourists. This restoration has greatly improved the appearance of the downtown core.”
 
Jim Hoke saw the need for an “Old World” style wrought iron sign on his business.
 
Using his own resources, he worked with local artisans to design and produce a beautiful sign that fits well with the other wrought iron signs about town that were sponsored by the chamber.
 
No other business in Mt. Angel, according to the chamber, has done so much this past year for the good of its community and for themselves than the Mt. Angel Sausage Company.
 
Irene Willig is the recipient of the chamber’s Helping Hands Award.
 
She is a lifelong resident of Mt. Angel. She is especially recognized for her volunteer work with the Providence Benedictine Nursing Center, and the community Senior Center.
 
At the nursing center, she helps with distribution of mail, visits with residents and help with daily activities. Every year she organizes wheelchairs so that nursing home residents can come to town and enjoy Oktoberfest.
 
The volunteer firefighters were selected as the Volunteer Organization of the Year.
 
The First Citizen Awards Banquet will be celebrated Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. at the St. Mary Parish Center.

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