Annual Awards & RecognitionAlbany Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards and Recognition recognizes and celebrates the individuals, businesses, and organizations for their work within our community. Awards are given in these 5 categories: Business of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Employee of the Year, Community Spirit Award, and Youth Rising Star Award. The 2023 banquet will be held at the Albany Golf Club on March 15th.
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Watch: 2022 Awards & Recognition Video |
Congratulations to our 2023 Nominee's
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
This award recognizes an Albany area business that contributes to the economic growth and quality of life in Albany and whose practices and professional conduct contribute to a sense of cooperation within the entire business community. Some of the specific criteria that could be considered for this award include: a successful marketing or business strategy; growth; community involvement; exceptional customer service. Please choose the one you believe most deserves this award.
Albany Chrysler Center "This business and the owners do so much for the town and Albany Area Schools."
Albany Area Gymnastics Association (AAGA): "This non-profit organization run by volunteers has had a huge impact on our community. Their new facility was opened in Albany in November of 2022 with 415 gymnasts ages 2-17 registered for weekly classes. Of these 415 kids, approximately 50% are from Albany/Avon school district, 35% from ROCORI and Holdingford school districts and the other 15% coming from other school districts. So not only does AAGA provided enrichment for over 200 children living in our community, but they also bring over 200 families from other towns TO Albany. This undoubtedly helps our local businesses get exposure and sales. In addition, AAGA provides income to 13 coaches. AAGA takes pride in their customer service and communication to continue to keep the organization strong and thriving. Their business strategy is simple - they strive to offer safe and quality gymnastics training as well as low tuition rates and scholarship programs so that all kids can have the opportunity to learn gymnastics, a sport that helps the kids in our community be physically and mentally healthy."
Albany Country Floral: "Albany country floral is the true epitome of a small business running and thriving in a small town. Not only do they provide a beautiful storefront on main street with great products and service, Kitty and her husband devote their time to other committees and volunteer opportunities within the community and they go above and beyond just running their business. They are a true asset to our community."
Oakmont Capital Services: " This growing business continues to add new employees, several of which are part of our community. A new building is currently being constructed to accommodate their growth. Many of the employees are active in our community."
Albany Manufacturing: "Joe Peternel was born and raised in the Albany community. He left for several years while working for Blattner Energy, then came back to the area and started Albany Manufacturing Inc. He has been very successful in the machining business and has developed a second business restoring old steam engines which has been a great side line and has supported the Albany Pioneer club for over 40 years. He has developed multiple sites in Albany promoting the business district; apartments, Snap Fitness, and Prime retail space rentals. Most recently adding a beautiful office building on the west side of town. His vision for Albany continues to grow and help our community continue to grow."
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
The purpose of this award is to honor a Volunteer whose dedicated service has had a significant impact in the community that they serve and/or the community at large. This award is given to someone that has served in any way that has benefitted our community.
Shelley Johnson (Albany Gymnastics): "Shelley Johnson- Shelley has dedicated thousands of hours to form, create, and build the Albany Area Gymnastics Association. She has done countless hours creating forms, hiring qualified coaches, class set up and designs, registration processes, organizing several fundraisers, obtaining grants, making necessary purchases, designing the new building, leading the board, presentations to school officials to create the first official Albany HS gymnastics team and all the other things she does behind the scenes without any recognition or benefit to her!"
"Shelley has worked tirelessly since 2018 to bring a youth gymnastics program to the Albany area. She was the lead organizer of the organization and has been President since the organizations inception in late 2018. She has led the program from the start including finding a space to create a gym, fundraising for equipment, hiring coaches, creating an entire youth program from scratch to recently leading the effort to build our new facility in the Albany Industrial Park. She has done all of this as a volunteer and has taken nothing in salary for all the hundreds of hours she has put in. One prime example of her dedication to the program over the years is that her private cell phone number remains the main contact number for the Albany Area Gymnastics Association. She is literally available 24/7 for the program."
"Shelley Johnson, has volunteered countless hours toward Albany Area Gymnastics. She has headed building new gym that opened this fall! The team is doing very well. Great coaches were recruited and valued by the girls and parents. She continues to grow gymnastics in our community by offering open gym time and new classes for all age groups. Getting this dream gym in Albany has been more than a full time job for Shelley."
Diane Noll: Diane is the epitome of a great volunteer. She gives selflessly of her time and is dedicated to making the Albany Area a great place to live, work, and play. On top of her many other volunteer commitments, Diane spends countless hours at Pioneer Grounds leading up to the annual Santa Day event, helping to make sure things go off without a hitch. In addition to giving of her time, Diane brings a positive attitude as a member of a team and has a "get things done" personality -- both incredible traits of a volunteer. Thank you for all you do for our community, Diane. You are SO appreciated!"
Bryan Schiffler (Albany Chrysler) - he consistently looks at what would benefit or help represent Albany in a positive manner and then he promotes the action or activity with personal funds and efforts, and by rallying support from other businesses and people.
Melissa Gerads (Magnifi Financial) : Melissa is always asking what more she can do in our community and provides countless volunteer hours and helps out wherever she can. She works silently behind the scenes at volunteer events, always putting others before herself and never wanting to take the credit for her hard work.
YOUTH RISING STAR
This award will recognize and honor the outstanding efforts and achievements of a young person within our Albany Chamber businesses. Spotlight an outstanding young person who excels in the areas of leadership, responsibility, growth, and communication. This award will enhance the perception of youth and raise community awareness of their positive contributions.
Dalton Herzog (Albany Chrysler Center): "Dalton has been working with us since he has been 15 years old. He has always been a visionary person and was involved with the West Stearns CEO (creating entrepreneurial opportunities) program in High School. Through that class he developed a detailing business and then went on to graduate from Alexandria Technical College. He has since become one of the leading sales people at Albany Chrysler Center, continues with his detailing business, and has been engaging heavily in the area and community. He serves on the Stearns County Fair board, and the West Stearns CEO board. Last year he helped the Chamber and volunteered to water all the flowers on main street for the entire season. He has also gotten very involved with the Albany Jaycees and the projects and events they take on. We see Dalton as one of our young and growing business entrepreneurs in the community."
Candace Berckes: " Candace, an 8th-grader at Albany Middle School volunteers her time to help coach younger kids enrolled at Albany Area Gymnastics Association. Candace is a great role model for the younger kids. She is an A student and takes her grades very seriously. She is involved in Robotics, 4H, and gymnastics. She is Co-Captain of the brand new Albany Huskie JV Gymnastics Team as selected by her teammates. But her willingness to volunteer her time to help others sets her apart from other teens. She does it because she loves the sport and wants to help younger kids learn to love it as well. She is always smiling and has a calming effect on kids. She is kind and supportive and the younger kids love her. Candace is an asset to our community and deserves the recognition this award would give."
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
This award will honor an Albany Area employee. This employee should be productive, committed and possess quality in carrying out their responsibilities in an organization. They are asset to the organization as well as their department. They are enthusiastic employee who is willing to take up more initiatives and accepts more tasks apart from their regular job routine. The employee should have a positive eye on work responsibilities, customers, and colleagues, and should be one who stands as a role model for others.
Daryl Dirkes, Albany Chrysler: "I nominated Daryl as he is a reflection of what “Minnesota nice” is at Albany Chrysler Center. He is always helpful and committed to making you feel good about buying a car there. He is no pressure and willing to let you think things over. As a native of Albany he represents what makes Albany a good place to live."
Linda Braegelmann, Albany Mutual Telephone: "Linda is a true team player and an employee that is always is willing to go above and beyond to get the job done. Linda does her work with a smile, never complaining and always wanting to help. When you think of one in 1 million, that is Linda."
Randy Rothstein, KASM Radio: "Randy is the face of our local radio station and always has a positive attitude in everything he does. He is a pleasure to work with because of the positive attitude he exhibits. Randy and the crew go above and beyond by broadcasting sporting events after normal business hours. This is a great service for our community members that are not able to attend. Randy is also involved with multiple boards to help better our community."
Jackie Fiedler, Magnifi Financial: "Jackie has been an amazing coach to her team at Magnifi Financial. She selflessly puts others needs at the top of her list. She even works on days off to ensure the Albany Magnifi branch runs smooth. Jackie is constantly thinking of ways to improve processes. She ensures smooth rollout of new procedures for staff. Jackie creates a positive atmosphere everywhere she goes by being caring and hardworking. Both staff and members appreciate the commitment Jackie has made to Magnifi Financial and the Albany Community."
COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD
This award recognizes and honors an exceptional individual who makes volunteering and community service a way of life. An individual who makes significant contributions to the betterment of our community, is a proud representative of our community, inspires others to serve and gives freely and unselfishly of their time to community activities.
Bryan Schiffler, Albany Chrysler "He consistently looks at what would benefit or help represent Albany in a positive manner and then he promotes the action or activity with personal funds and efforts, and by rallying support from other businesses and people." "If there is anyone that wants the best for this community, it is Bryan. Always giving of the little free time he has outside of running his businesses to better the community and envisioning a bright future, and always thinking outside of the box. Bryan pushes the people in the community to dream bigger and backs it up with his enthusiastic commitment to be a part of the change.
Mary Sauerer: "Mary (and her husband Tim) are true “lifers” in Albany, members of our community since birth. Words I think of when I hear the word volunteer are help, contribute, assist, pitch in, give time; all of which could be used to describe Mary Sauerer. During her years of employment in Albany, Mary has put in countless hours volunteering in our community. If there was a project to be done or committee to be on you could count on Mary to give 110% to get the job done. Mary took pride in making sure the event or project was done to the highest of standards. She has been involved with the Chamber forever. Serving on committees and helping with events such as, Santa Day, Heritage Day, the Annual Banquet, and many others. The list is truly endless. When it came to Santa Day, she did what she could to make sure all the kids had a magical experience with Santa; from helping them on stage, to making sure the bags were all put together perfectly, and to keeping Santa hydrated. She was there. For Heritage Day she could be seen helping organize the event. From the countless meetings and hours of planning to the stand set up, to the parade line up, and even squeezing in some stage time to announce the parade winners. We knew if Mary said she would do something it would get done. For many years Mary was an instrumental part of the Annual Chamber Banquet, that typically brought a large crowd of community members in to honor other community members for anything from a scout project to assisting in saving a life to years of service on the fire department. Mary took great pride in making sure this event made each honoree feel honored and special. Mary was the leader when it came to the push to get new flowerpots on main street. Since day one she has taken on that project. She still takes care of ordering the flowers each year. She also lines up volunteers to help plant and water the flowers. Not only would you see Mary’s face at Chamber related events, you literally would see it everywhere. Another place she spent countless hours of her time that is worth mentioning is at the Church of Seven Dolors. For years, she helped chair the annual church bazaar. I personally can remember her wearing that pink shirt year after year. A shirt that let everyone know who was in charge and who was willing to help with whatever needed to be done. Now that her and Tim are both retired, we assume they have even more time to do all the things they love, which we hope still includes some volunteering. They truly are the foundation of our community and a driving force to help keep it safe and inviting; footsteps we should all try to follow in."
This award recognizes an Albany area business that contributes to the economic growth and quality of life in Albany and whose practices and professional conduct contribute to a sense of cooperation within the entire business community. Some of the specific criteria that could be considered for this award include: a successful marketing or business strategy; growth; community involvement; exceptional customer service. Please choose the one you believe most deserves this award.
Albany Chrysler Center "This business and the owners do so much for the town and Albany Area Schools."
Albany Area Gymnastics Association (AAGA): "This non-profit organization run by volunteers has had a huge impact on our community. Their new facility was opened in Albany in November of 2022 with 415 gymnasts ages 2-17 registered for weekly classes. Of these 415 kids, approximately 50% are from Albany/Avon school district, 35% from ROCORI and Holdingford school districts and the other 15% coming from other school districts. So not only does AAGA provided enrichment for over 200 children living in our community, but they also bring over 200 families from other towns TO Albany. This undoubtedly helps our local businesses get exposure and sales. In addition, AAGA provides income to 13 coaches. AAGA takes pride in their customer service and communication to continue to keep the organization strong and thriving. Their business strategy is simple - they strive to offer safe and quality gymnastics training as well as low tuition rates and scholarship programs so that all kids can have the opportunity to learn gymnastics, a sport that helps the kids in our community be physically and mentally healthy."
Albany Country Floral: "Albany country floral is the true epitome of a small business running and thriving in a small town. Not only do they provide a beautiful storefront on main street with great products and service, Kitty and her husband devote their time to other committees and volunteer opportunities within the community and they go above and beyond just running their business. They are a true asset to our community."
Oakmont Capital Services: " This growing business continues to add new employees, several of which are part of our community. A new building is currently being constructed to accommodate their growth. Many of the employees are active in our community."
Albany Manufacturing: "Joe Peternel was born and raised in the Albany community. He left for several years while working for Blattner Energy, then came back to the area and started Albany Manufacturing Inc. He has been very successful in the machining business and has developed a second business restoring old steam engines which has been a great side line and has supported the Albany Pioneer club for over 40 years. He has developed multiple sites in Albany promoting the business district; apartments, Snap Fitness, and Prime retail space rentals. Most recently adding a beautiful office building on the west side of town. His vision for Albany continues to grow and help our community continue to grow."
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
The purpose of this award is to honor a Volunteer whose dedicated service has had a significant impact in the community that they serve and/or the community at large. This award is given to someone that has served in any way that has benefitted our community.
Shelley Johnson (Albany Gymnastics): "Shelley Johnson- Shelley has dedicated thousands of hours to form, create, and build the Albany Area Gymnastics Association. She has done countless hours creating forms, hiring qualified coaches, class set up and designs, registration processes, organizing several fundraisers, obtaining grants, making necessary purchases, designing the new building, leading the board, presentations to school officials to create the first official Albany HS gymnastics team and all the other things she does behind the scenes without any recognition or benefit to her!"
"Shelley has worked tirelessly since 2018 to bring a youth gymnastics program to the Albany area. She was the lead organizer of the organization and has been President since the organizations inception in late 2018. She has led the program from the start including finding a space to create a gym, fundraising for equipment, hiring coaches, creating an entire youth program from scratch to recently leading the effort to build our new facility in the Albany Industrial Park. She has done all of this as a volunteer and has taken nothing in salary for all the hundreds of hours she has put in. One prime example of her dedication to the program over the years is that her private cell phone number remains the main contact number for the Albany Area Gymnastics Association. She is literally available 24/7 for the program."
"Shelley Johnson, has volunteered countless hours toward Albany Area Gymnastics. She has headed building new gym that opened this fall! The team is doing very well. Great coaches were recruited and valued by the girls and parents. She continues to grow gymnastics in our community by offering open gym time and new classes for all age groups. Getting this dream gym in Albany has been more than a full time job for Shelley."
Diane Noll: Diane is the epitome of a great volunteer. She gives selflessly of her time and is dedicated to making the Albany Area a great place to live, work, and play. On top of her many other volunteer commitments, Diane spends countless hours at Pioneer Grounds leading up to the annual Santa Day event, helping to make sure things go off without a hitch. In addition to giving of her time, Diane brings a positive attitude as a member of a team and has a "get things done" personality -- both incredible traits of a volunteer. Thank you for all you do for our community, Diane. You are SO appreciated!"
Bryan Schiffler (Albany Chrysler) - he consistently looks at what would benefit or help represent Albany in a positive manner and then he promotes the action or activity with personal funds and efforts, and by rallying support from other businesses and people.
Melissa Gerads (Magnifi Financial) : Melissa is always asking what more she can do in our community and provides countless volunteer hours and helps out wherever she can. She works silently behind the scenes at volunteer events, always putting others before herself and never wanting to take the credit for her hard work.
YOUTH RISING STAR
This award will recognize and honor the outstanding efforts and achievements of a young person within our Albany Chamber businesses. Spotlight an outstanding young person who excels in the areas of leadership, responsibility, growth, and communication. This award will enhance the perception of youth and raise community awareness of their positive contributions.
Dalton Herzog (Albany Chrysler Center): "Dalton has been working with us since he has been 15 years old. He has always been a visionary person and was involved with the West Stearns CEO (creating entrepreneurial opportunities) program in High School. Through that class he developed a detailing business and then went on to graduate from Alexandria Technical College. He has since become one of the leading sales people at Albany Chrysler Center, continues with his detailing business, and has been engaging heavily in the area and community. He serves on the Stearns County Fair board, and the West Stearns CEO board. Last year he helped the Chamber and volunteered to water all the flowers on main street for the entire season. He has also gotten very involved with the Albany Jaycees and the projects and events they take on. We see Dalton as one of our young and growing business entrepreneurs in the community."
Candace Berckes: " Candace, an 8th-grader at Albany Middle School volunteers her time to help coach younger kids enrolled at Albany Area Gymnastics Association. Candace is a great role model for the younger kids. She is an A student and takes her grades very seriously. She is involved in Robotics, 4H, and gymnastics. She is Co-Captain of the brand new Albany Huskie JV Gymnastics Team as selected by her teammates. But her willingness to volunteer her time to help others sets her apart from other teens. She does it because she loves the sport and wants to help younger kids learn to love it as well. She is always smiling and has a calming effect on kids. She is kind and supportive and the younger kids love her. Candace is an asset to our community and deserves the recognition this award would give."
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
This award will honor an Albany Area employee. This employee should be productive, committed and possess quality in carrying out their responsibilities in an organization. They are asset to the organization as well as their department. They are enthusiastic employee who is willing to take up more initiatives and accepts more tasks apart from their regular job routine. The employee should have a positive eye on work responsibilities, customers, and colleagues, and should be one who stands as a role model for others.
Daryl Dirkes, Albany Chrysler: "I nominated Daryl as he is a reflection of what “Minnesota nice” is at Albany Chrysler Center. He is always helpful and committed to making you feel good about buying a car there. He is no pressure and willing to let you think things over. As a native of Albany he represents what makes Albany a good place to live."
Linda Braegelmann, Albany Mutual Telephone: "Linda is a true team player and an employee that is always is willing to go above and beyond to get the job done. Linda does her work with a smile, never complaining and always wanting to help. When you think of one in 1 million, that is Linda."
Randy Rothstein, KASM Radio: "Randy is the face of our local radio station and always has a positive attitude in everything he does. He is a pleasure to work with because of the positive attitude he exhibits. Randy and the crew go above and beyond by broadcasting sporting events after normal business hours. This is a great service for our community members that are not able to attend. Randy is also involved with multiple boards to help better our community."
Jackie Fiedler, Magnifi Financial: "Jackie has been an amazing coach to her team at Magnifi Financial. She selflessly puts others needs at the top of her list. She even works on days off to ensure the Albany Magnifi branch runs smooth. Jackie is constantly thinking of ways to improve processes. She ensures smooth rollout of new procedures for staff. Jackie creates a positive atmosphere everywhere she goes by being caring and hardworking. Both staff and members appreciate the commitment Jackie has made to Magnifi Financial and the Albany Community."
COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD
This award recognizes and honors an exceptional individual who makes volunteering and community service a way of life. An individual who makes significant contributions to the betterment of our community, is a proud representative of our community, inspires others to serve and gives freely and unselfishly of their time to community activities.
Bryan Schiffler, Albany Chrysler "He consistently looks at what would benefit or help represent Albany in a positive manner and then he promotes the action or activity with personal funds and efforts, and by rallying support from other businesses and people." "If there is anyone that wants the best for this community, it is Bryan. Always giving of the little free time he has outside of running his businesses to better the community and envisioning a bright future, and always thinking outside of the box. Bryan pushes the people in the community to dream bigger and backs it up with his enthusiastic commitment to be a part of the change.
Mary Sauerer: "Mary (and her husband Tim) are true “lifers” in Albany, members of our community since birth. Words I think of when I hear the word volunteer are help, contribute, assist, pitch in, give time; all of which could be used to describe Mary Sauerer. During her years of employment in Albany, Mary has put in countless hours volunteering in our community. If there was a project to be done or committee to be on you could count on Mary to give 110% to get the job done. Mary took pride in making sure the event or project was done to the highest of standards. She has been involved with the Chamber forever. Serving on committees and helping with events such as, Santa Day, Heritage Day, the Annual Banquet, and many others. The list is truly endless. When it came to Santa Day, she did what she could to make sure all the kids had a magical experience with Santa; from helping them on stage, to making sure the bags were all put together perfectly, and to keeping Santa hydrated. She was there. For Heritage Day she could be seen helping organize the event. From the countless meetings and hours of planning to the stand set up, to the parade line up, and even squeezing in some stage time to announce the parade winners. We knew if Mary said she would do something it would get done. For many years Mary was an instrumental part of the Annual Chamber Banquet, that typically brought a large crowd of community members in to honor other community members for anything from a scout project to assisting in saving a life to years of service on the fire department. Mary took great pride in making sure this event made each honoree feel honored and special. Mary was the leader when it came to the push to get new flowerpots on main street. Since day one she has taken on that project. She still takes care of ordering the flowers each year. She also lines up volunteers to help plant and water the flowers. Not only would you see Mary’s face at Chamber related events, you literally would see it everywhere. Another place she spent countless hours of her time that is worth mentioning is at the Church of Seven Dolors. For years, she helped chair the annual church bazaar. I personally can remember her wearing that pink shirt year after year. A shirt that let everyone know who was in charge and who was willing to help with whatever needed to be done. Now that her and Tim are both retired, we assume they have even more time to do all the things they love, which we hope still includes some volunteering. They truly are the foundation of our community and a driving force to help keep it safe and inviting; footsteps we should all try to follow in."
2022 Honorees

Magnifi Financial Credit Union
2022 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
At every chamber event when volunteers are needed, Magnifi Financial is truly a team of people ready to assist at any time and in any way possible. Magnifi and their staff continuously support the mission of the Chamber of Commerce through their extraordinary volunteer efforts.
2022 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
At every chamber event when volunteers are needed, Magnifi Financial is truly a team of people ready to assist at any time and in any way possible. Magnifi and their staff continuously support the mission of the Chamber of Commerce through their extraordinary volunteer efforts.

Brennan Shay, Albany Pioneer Club
2022 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Like a true volunteer, Brennan worked tirelessly behind the scenes connecting chamber members & businesses with the pioneer club members and resources to help execute another successful Santa Day event. Brennan ensured all the hard work that Chamber Businesses put into their light displays were ready and working each weekend through the holidays for the whole community to enjoy. He is never one to take the credit himself – rather he gives the credit to the team. Brennan truly volunteers his time to see the community succeed.
2022 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Like a true volunteer, Brennan worked tirelessly behind the scenes connecting chamber members & businesses with the pioneer club members and resources to help execute another successful Santa Day event. Brennan ensured all the hard work that Chamber Businesses put into their light displays were ready and working each weekend through the holidays for the whole community to enjoy. He is never one to take the credit himself – rather he gives the credit to the team. Brennan truly volunteers his time to see the community succeed.

Maria Hughes, Chamber of Commerce
2022 EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
As Chamber secretary, Maria has to wear many hats and perform many job functions to keep chamber running smoothly – she does it all and does it well. Where Maria truly shines is when she’s been thrown all the tough curve balls that Chamber has faced these past two years – her positive attitude and readiness to problem solve and go above and beyond her job requirements is what makes Maria such a valuable resource – not only for our chamber but for our community.
2022 EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
As Chamber secretary, Maria has to wear many hats and perform many job functions to keep chamber running smoothly – she does it all and does it well. Where Maria truly shines is when she’s been thrown all the tough curve balls that Chamber has faced these past two years – her positive attitude and readiness to problem solve and go above and beyond her job requirements is what makes Maria such a valuable resource – not only for our chamber but for our community.

Owen Gerads
2022 YOUTH RISING STAR AWARD
Owen is not just a kid but a future leader! Owen showed up to the Chamber/Pioneer Club Santa Day event as a volunteer – an event for kids and as a kid himself showed up to help. Not only was Owen a tremendous help, Owen brought a positive-can-do attitude and brought so much fun to the event as a volunteer. Owen’s willingness to help and confidently stepping into assist when needed at the event shows what a kind of leader he is becoming at such a young age.
2022 YOUTH RISING STAR AWARD
Owen is not just a kid but a future leader! Owen showed up to the Chamber/Pioneer Club Santa Day event as a volunteer – an event for kids and as a kid himself showed up to help. Not only was Owen a tremendous help, Owen brought a positive-can-do attitude and brought so much fun to the event as a volunteer. Owen’s willingness to help and confidently stepping into assist when needed at the event shows what a kind of leader he is becoming at such a young age.

Albany Pioneer Club & Lindsey Clancy, Albany Mutual Telephone (tie)
2022 Community Spirit Award
Albany Pioneer Club - The members of the pioneer club are truly an exceptional group of individuals who make volunteering and community service a way of life. They have been putting on their annual threshing show for over 47 years in the community, drawing thousands to the local area each September which puts us on the map and benefits the businesses in town. They also have openly welcomed the partnership with the Chamber to provide another incredible event for the community through Santa Day and the Drive-thru lights on the grounds. Their efforts make significant contributions to the betterment of our community. The way they give so freely of their time to volunteer shows what it means to be a proud organization and an inspiration to all.
Lindsey Clancy - Lindsey brings a ton of high energy and enthusiasm to community projects. She goes above and beyond with Santa Day, dressing up as an elf and securing funds to buy the large blow up Santa. She is positive and supportive of many community events.
2022 Community Spirit Award
Albany Pioneer Club - The members of the pioneer club are truly an exceptional group of individuals who make volunteering and community service a way of life. They have been putting on their annual threshing show for over 47 years in the community, drawing thousands to the local area each September which puts us on the map and benefits the businesses in town. They also have openly welcomed the partnership with the Chamber to provide another incredible event for the community through Santa Day and the Drive-thru lights on the grounds. Their efforts make significant contributions to the betterment of our community. The way they give so freely of their time to volunteer shows what it means to be a proud organization and an inspiration to all.
Lindsey Clancy - Lindsey brings a ton of high energy and enthusiasm to community projects. She goes above and beyond with Santa Day, dressing up as an elf and securing funds to buy the large blow up Santa. She is positive and supportive of many community events.