BACC release – On Saturday, January 27th the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards banquet, The 2023 Nominees for Citizen of the year were, Jay Farr, Bob More, Heidi Sause, Rick Osborn, Terry Cox, Dr Benjamin K Huff, Steve Cannon, and Mckay Jensen. The Winner was Bob More for being an advocate for our local libraries as a member of the Library Steering Committee and addressing housing issues as a Board Member of the Coquille Indian Housing authority and he works with Coos County Homeless Response Team. The Nominees for 2023 Business of the Year were Thrifty Sisters in North Bend, North Bend Lanes/Back Alley Pub & Grill, Honda World and South Coast Family Dentistry. The Award was presented to Mark Mattecheck with North Bend Lanes/ Back Alley Pub & Grill for their year expanding their business and adding outdoor events that brought people back out and together. They are also involved with the Marshfield and North Bend High School students building a strong High School Bowling Program. The Chamber Member of the Year Award was presented to Tracy Pierce from NW Natural for her dedication to the Chamber, Charing multiple committees such as Natural Resources, and the Ambassadors, Tracy has been one of the Chambers largest supporters of both her resources and her time. Tracy shows up at almost all member events and truly has earned this honor. The Community Award was given to those that brought brightness and togetherness to the community and made a true effort in working together to bring people back to the downtown areas of Coos Bay North Bend and Charleston. They brought many events back to the people and hired local artists to add art projects and murals to many of our spaces. For this hard work the Community Award was presented to North Bend Main Street, The Coos Bay Downtown Association, The Community Coalition of Empire and the Charleston Merchants Association. The 2023 President’s Award was presented to the hiring committee for their dedication and efforts in finding their new Executive Director and getting her onboarded. The award was presented to Allan Ledesma of Epuerto, Stephanie Kilmer of Southwest Oregon Regional Airport, Rick Osborn of Jackson-Osborn Insurance and Blueridge strategies, Steve Nye of Engle’s Furniture, Tim Novotny from the Coquille Indian Tribe, and Allison Richards of the Coos Bay North Bend Charleston Visitor and Convention bureau. The Prefontaine Award was presented to Alex Garcia Silver of Marshfield High School.
