The Greater Churchville-Riga Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for its 2017 awards, which will be presented at a special dinner at the Johnson House on Thursday, March 8, 2018. The awards are the Citizen of the Year/Community Service Award, the Business Person of the Year and the award for Civic Beautification.
To be considered, the nominee(s) for the Citizen of the Year/Community Service Award must have been a resident of the Town of Riga for at least ten years or have a history of community activity for at least five years.
To be considered for the Business Person of the Year, the nominee(s) must own or operate a business or have business involvement in the Town of Riga. The nominee must have had an active history in the business community for the previous five years and can only receive this award one time.
To be considered for the Civic Beautification Award, the nominee(s) property must be in the Town of Riga although the property owner need not be a resident of the Riga-Churchville area. The project to be considered must have been completed and must be a new or renovated property. Non-profit organizations and municipal governments may be considered for this award.
Past recipients of the Citizen of the Year/ Community Service Award are: Diane Cunningham (1982), Reverend Roger Reed (1983), Marian and Ralph “Doc” Kendall (1984), Churchville-Chili Community Playground Committee (1985), Churchville- Riga FISH (1986), James “Jack” McKnight and Bill McKenna (1987), Ray and Norma Adams (1988), Senior Connections and Harris Wilcox (1989), Clarence, Stan and Gary Johnson (1990), Churchville Volunteer Fire Department and the Village of Churchville (1991), Present and past members of the Churchville-Chili Board of Education (1992), the Lions Club of Churchville (1993), Mayor Donald Ehrmentraut (1995), Margaret “Peggy” Naughton (1996), Don Suter and Edgar & Jessie Moore (1997), Dick McNeely and Ron Trinkl (1998), George Wright (1999), John Casey (2000), John Leibeck (2001), Dean & Carol Arlidge (2002), Harvey C. Noone Post 954 of the American Legion (2003), Don and Joan Jacobs (2004), Churchville Volunteer Fire Department (2005), Donna Haire and the staff of Newman Riga Library (2006), Ron Belczak (2007), Richard Stowe (2008), Sue Davis (2009), Ray Ehrmentraut (2010), Robert deNormand (2011), Jim Fitzsimmons (2012), Linda Burlingame (2013), Peter and Nancy Neidrauer (2014), Bob Ottley (2015) and Kathleen Stephany (2016).
Past recipients of the Business Person of the Year Award are: James Matson, Agway Farm and Home Center (1994), Abe and Ann George, ANG Markets (1995), Jim Barnard, Jim Barnard Chevrolet-Geo (1996), Dr. and Mrs. Robert Schubmehl (1997), Ted and Lois Stone, Stone’s Countryside Tavern (1999), James Fitzsimmons Esq. (2000), Francois LaChance, Star of the West Milling (2001), Maureen and Don Ehrmentraut, A Touch of Country Class (2002), Chris & Lisa Steubing, Gatherings at the Senator’s Mansion (2003), Jim and Sheila Fodge, Jim’s Service (2004), Stephen Gulvin, Churchville Fire Equipment Corp. (2005), Dr. Richard Parsons (2006), Michael Pontarelli (2007), George “Buddy” Filowick – posthumously (2008), Cindy Jessop, Jeff Richardson and Gene Dries of Waste Management (2009), Arthur Minery, Churchville Physical Therapy (2010), Jan and Tom Armstrong of Main Street Deli (2011), Westside Community Federal Credit Union (2012), Babe’s Hair and Tanning Salon (2013) Pontillo’s Pizza (2014), Anastasia’s Spotlight Dance (2015) and Peggy Naughton (2016).
Past recipients of the Civic Beautification Award are: The home of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Schubmehl (1997), Wendy and Andrew Catalina, owners of Babe’s Unisex Hair Salon (2000), Larry Stubing – 9 East Buffalo Street (2002), Linda Gathman for care of the grounds of the Newman-Riga Library (2003), Fern Wilcox for her gardens at 741 Johnson Road (2004), Bob and Nancy Thompson (2005), The Ray Adams Cobblestone Building (2006), the committee for the Widener Garden of Recognition (2007), Chris and Lisa Stuebing for their gardens at the Senator’s Mansion (2008), the Main Street grant program that helped revitalize the downtown business district (2009), Eric D. Boerschlein Construction for the company having built the Westside Community Federal Credit Union building (2010), Jerry and Hazel Spotts (2011), Dr, Nancy Perkins Weyl (2012), the Union Congregational United Church of Christ (2013), Churchville-Chili Central School District (2014) and Brian Wilkins and Denise Haggerty of Wilkins RV (2016).
