Carson City Chamber celebrates best and brightest

The Carson City Chamber of Commerce celebrated Carson City’s best and brightest at its annual meeting Thursday.

More than 100 people gathered for dinner at The Martin Hotel downtown to honor the seven recipients of this year’s best awards and the 17 graduates of the Chamber’s 2019 Leadership Institute class as well as witness the handing off of the gavel to the new board chair.

Lisa Lee, executive director, Advocates to End Domestic Violence, is the Chamber’s 75th board chair, its 12th woman chair, and first chair from a non-profit organization.

“I did leadership in 1997 and worked my way up,” said Lee.

Lee replaces Robert Fredlund, Realtor, Coldwell Banker Select, who helped establish a health insurance program for small businesses and worked on the project to rehab the Bob Boldrick Theater lobby.

“Carson City is changing — Curry Street, the plaza, these restaurants,” said Fredlund. “These businesses did it.”

Joining the board are Diane Rush, Carson Tahoe Hospital; Bob Shouppe, CGI Inc.; and Stacy Woodbury, Southwest Gas. They replace Gordon Gagnon, Terrie McNutt and Peter Fishburn.

ESL In Home Program of Northern Nevada, founded and led by Florence Phillips, was recognized as Non-Profit of the Year.

“I’m overwhelmed and honored to receive this award,” said Phillips, whose organization teaches English as a second language as well conducts citizenship classes. “There are 365 new citizens right here in Carson City.”

Phillips’ organization got a boost from Fredlund and fellow recipient Bill Miles, Miles Construction Inc., who both challenged the audience to answer Mark Twain trivia questions and each donated $100 to the non-profit. McAvoy Layne, the ghost of Mark Twain, was on hand to help celebrate.

Miles received the Economic Development Award for his part in the project to renovate Jack’s Bar, soon to be the Bank Saloon.

Also honored were Linda Marrone, who received the Community Spirit Award for her 11-year tenure managing the Carson City Farmers Market and V&T Railway’s Polar Express as the Best Annual Event of the Year.

“It takes a huge group to put it on, not just our volunteers but our board of directors,” said Elaine Spencer, who accepted the award. “We do 72 events in six weeks.”

Linda Ritter received the Volunteer of the Year Award for her work with the Chamber’s leadership class while Southwest Gas and Arizona Pipeline were honored with the Big Dream Award for donating more than $40,000 in time and materials for the leadership class project. And Dan Stucky, city engineer, received the Government Employee of the Year Award for his work on the completed Curry Street project and ongoing South Carson Street project.

“I feel really fortunate. In Public Works, and all the city staff really care about what they do for the city,” said Stucky.

The 2019 Leadership Institute class constructed the bee habitat behind the Carson Tahoe Health Cancer Center as its class project.

The graduates are Stephen Buffo, AT&T Communications; Deborah Conrad, Western Nevada College; Breana Coons, Carson City Farmers Market; Savannah Drew, CORE Construction; Charline Duque-Jones, Carson City Treasurer’s Office; Christopher Gray, Carson City Consolidated Municipality; Enrique Hagerbaumer-Tadeo, Shelter Insurance; Angela Holt, WNC; Stephen Jones, Southwest Gas; James Kinzel, Meek’s Lumber; Emily Nunez, Carson City District Attorney; Edmund Quaglieri, Carson City Public Works; John Tatro, Carson City Justice Court; Jerome Tushbant, Carson City Sheriff’s Office; James Underwood, Carson City Consolidated Municipality; Karen Watson, Nevada State Bank; and Juliann Yim, Greater Nevada Mortgage Services.