Chamber honors citizen, business

Last updated 2/10/2009 at Noon

Chuck Fadeley has been named Citizen of the Year by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce for his pro bono service to many local organizations, including the Chamber and Sisters Habitat for Humanity.

The Sisters Rodeo Association was honored as Business of the Year at the Chamber's annual Black and White Ball on Friday at FivePine Conference Center.

The event also marks the changing of the guard for the organization as a new president, Patty Vandiver, took the reins from outgoing president Michael Robillard.

Vandiver praised Robillard's leadership in tumultuous times for the chamber, as two executive directors have left in the space of less than a year.

"I don't think there's an award big enough for Michael," Vandiver said. She noted that Robillard has worked in ways not always visible to the membership and the public "to keep the Chamber going."

Vandiver welcomed new executive director Erin Borla and said that she is excited about the Chamber's current direction. She asked that members be patient as the organization changes and she said the organization has an open-door policy and wants to get input from the membership and the Sisters community.

In accepting his award as Citizen of the Year, Fadeley acknowledged that the area is going through hard times, but he expressed confidence that the Sisters Country will weather the economic storm.

"We are in an unprecedented time of economic trouble and it's going to get worse before it gets better," he said. "But it's going to get better here before it gets better anywhere else because the Sisters Country is such a great product."

One of the organizations that contributes significantly to the reputation of the Sisters Country is the Sisters Rodeo Association, which stages the most significant rodeo in the country on the second weekend in June each year.

Now in its 69th year, the organization is run entirely by volunteers.

President G. J. Miller thanked the Chamber for the award and pledged continued success for the event. Rodeo Vice President Curt Kallberg noted that part of that success lies in the fact that the rodeo has remained true to its identity.

"We've had the opportunity to become a carnival or a fair and we decided to just be a plain old rodeo," he said.

After the awards were presented, the audience enjoyed a short documentary on the Sisters Rodeo, crafted by the digital photography class at Sisters High School taught by Ben Young.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.