From left, Karl Potts, president of the Chamber of Commerce board of directors; Woody Widmark, standing in for Sitka Tribe of Alaska general manager Lisa Gassman; Fire Chief Craig Warren, EOC incident commander; Trish White, of White's and Harry Race Pharmacy; Denise Ewing of the state Division of Public Health; Dr. Elliot Bruhl, chief medical officer of SEARHC; and Loren Olsen, Chamber board member. (Photo by Bobbi Jordan)
By Sentinel Staff
Four awards for community service were handed out Saturday night at the Sitka Chamber of Commerce’s annual gala.
“It’s an unusual gala, but special for all of you,” Chamber Executive Director Rachel Roy said as she welcomed members and guests at the Sitka Performing
Arts Center.
The pandemic forced the Chamber to cancel the awards event last year, but COVID’s were still much in evidence Saturday night. The social distancing policy at Harrigan Centennial Hall ruled it out as a venue for the gala, which is usually a formal banquet, and the pandemic was front and center again in the Chamber’s selection as Heroes of the Year: the city’s COVID response team.
Before the program and at intermission waiters circulated in the PAC lobby serving hors d’oeuvres and desserts made from local ingredients by Chef Edith Johnson of Our Town Catering. Chamber board president Karl Potts was emcee for the evening.
Lawrence “Woody” Widmark (Photo by Bobbi Jordan)
Lawrence “Woody” Widmark received the Chamber’s highest individual honor, the Cossack Cap, in recognitions of his decades of dedication to youth sports and his service to Sitka Tribe of Alaska.
AC Lakeside was named Business of the Year, and Sitka Swirls was recognized as New Business of the Year.
The crew at AC Lakeside accept their award Saturday at the Performing Arts Center. (Photo by Bobbi Jordan)
Chamber board member Paul Kraft presented the Cossack Cap to Widmark. He said Widmark was sports coordinator for Sitka Community Schools for more than 25 years, and even after retiring in 2015 he continued to coach Little League baseball and officiate at youth basketball, softball and volleyball games – and earlier Saturday he had umpired a Sitka High softball game.
Kraft also recognized Widmark’s leadership role with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, as a member of the Tribal Council for more than 34 years, 22 as chairman.
Widmark thanked the Chamber, and said working with the kids in sports is his passion. “As the kids get older they tell me thanks ... that means a lot to me. I’m really blessed. ”
In presenting the Business of the Year award to AC Lakeside branch manager Vince Winter, Chamber staff member Laurie Booyse praised Winter and the grocery store for their support of non-profits and food programs.
During the height of the pandemic Lakeside ran the USDA Farmers to Families food box program, offered pickup and delivery to local shoppers, coordinated the Family Meals to Go program, and supplied cleaning and personal protection products to local businesses.
The store has raised funds and donated food to many organizations, Booyse said.
Accepting the award, Winter said, “It’s been my honor to be part of this community. Sitka really, truly is a gem.”
Tamy Stevenson (Photo by Bobbi Jordan)
In introducing Sitka Swirls as the New Business of the Year, Chamber board member Evy Kinnear spoke of owners Tamy and Greg Stevenson’s “hard work, long hours and tenacity” and their “spirit of optimism” when they launched their ice cream truck business in January 2021.
In presenting the Heroes Award to the COVID responders, Chamber board member Loren Olsen said “I know we all can think back to the day we received the message from our new city administrator (John Leach) asking us to hunker down to allow time for the preparation of our health care system.”
Olsen called the members of the Emergency Operations Command to the stage: Dr. Elliot Bruhl, chief medical officer at SEARHC; Woody Widmark, standing in for Sitka Tribe of Alaska general manager Lisa Gassman; Fire Chief Craig Warren, EOC incident commander; Trish White, of White’s and Harry Race Pharmacy; and Denise Ewing of the state Division of Public Health.
After their comments, Olsen asked those in the audience who had served the community during the pandemic to stand up, and read a list: serving on the EOC, healthcare worker, first responder, teacher of children at home, sewing face masks for others, receiving or sharing food from the USDA program, taking care of quarantined family members, learning how to Zoom, ordering takeout from a restaurant to help keep them in business.
“Look around you,” he said to the audience, in which nearly everyone was standing. “Take a moment to thank your neighbor – we all had our part in getting Sitka through the pandemic.”
Also on the program was a live auction, conducted by veteran fund-raising auctioneer Dave Miller. Entertainment throughout the evening was provided by violinist Erin Brodrick, singer Laura Turcott, and musical duos Anel Figueroa and Josh Colosky, and Zak Kirkpatrick and Christian Jensen.
A dance video created by Nancy Neel and Kris Wilcox and featuring people at local businesses being caught up in the dance music was shown.
The final entertainment was a performance by Nancy Neel and Lily Turley of “A Little A Party Never Killed Nobody,” from the movie “The Great Gatsby.”
