The Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau announced this week the honorees for the 10th annual Community Awards. Each year, the chamber calls on the community to shed light on people and organizations that made positive contributions.
This year's awards will be presented to Cynthia Murphy for Citizen of the Year, Whitney DeBree for Youth Citizen of the Year, Chris Leman for Leading Environmental Advocate, Bob Corker for Youth Advocate of the Year, Kim Rogers for Ambassador of the Year, Silver Creek Outfitters for Business of the Year, Ketchum/Sun Valley Rotary Club for Non-profit of the Year, and Sun Valley Center for the Arts for Arts Advocate of the Year.
As the population of Blaine County has grown, so too has the responsibility of the Wood River Community YMCA, in Ketchum. For the past seven years, that course has been navigated by YMCA Chairwoman Cynthia Murphy.
"I was overwhelmed (over winning Citizen of the Year)," Murphy said. "There are so many people in the community that do so many amazing things. I look at this as really going to the entire Y organization.
"Determining the needs of the community and providing the flexibility necessary to change along with it is difficult," she added. "But to bring something to fruition is a rewarding process."
Wood River High School senior Whitney DeBree, Youth Citizen of the Year, is a proven leader.
After seeing former Vice President Al Gore's documentary about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," DeBree decided to make a difference by starting an environmental club at Wood River High School.
"At our first meeting, we had nearly 20 members," she said. "I realized there was a lot of interest."
In a community that places environmental stewardship at the forefront of the social conscience, Chris Leman, of the Big Wood Backcountry Trails, knows the importance of the chamber awards.
"I am just amazed," he said. "Knowing some of the people who have come before and won this—it's just such an honor."
For Leman, the award is a culmination of a decade's worth of work. In 1996, he and a group of Wood River residents filled a crucial gap in the Forest Service budget.
"The Forest Service had huge budget crunches and couldn't afford to hire a trail maintenance crew," Leman said. "A group of us decided to take it upon ourselves to fund the trail crew."
Youth Advocate of the Year Bob Corker has, on many levels, been a positive contributor to youth-related activities. Corker has volunteered at the Blaine County Recreation District as a soccer coach, with the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, and for the Education Foundation of the Blaine County School District.
"There are absolutely, positively dozens of people in this valley who do more in terms of time and effort for our youth," Corker said. "And, you know, you really get more out of these things than you put into them—you really do."
Ketchum-based Silver Creek Outfitters, Business of the Year, has roots in the community that have grown over the past 40 years.
"I was very flattered (at the chamber award) but surprised," said Terry Ring, owner of the outfitting and retail operation. "There are a lot of great businesses out there, and all we do is try and support the community to the extent we can and are capable of."
Ring offered the lion's share of the credit to his employees.
In June, several employees held a film festival, the theme of which was fly-fishing. Silver Creek absorbed all the production costs and then donated 100 percent of the ticket proceeds, roughly $2,500, to the Wood River Land Trust.
The Ketchum/Sun Valley Rotary Club has been a mainstay on the philanthropic circuit in Blaine County for years.
"We have a very committed group of people who really enjoy giving back to the community," said Torene Bonner, the group's president.
The Sun Valley Center for the Arts "is honored and excited to receive such an honor" said Executive Director Sam Gappmayer. "We hope it's because of the extensive arts program we provide in the valley."
The center, a nonprofit educational arts organization, lives up to its mantra: to provoke and stimulate the imagination while opening hearts and minds through excellence in diverse arts programming.
Ambassador of the Year Kim Rogers is a member of the Ketchum Police Department and was unavailable for comment at the time that this article went to print.
Awards dinner
The Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau will honor each of the Community Award winners in a special dinner starting at 7 p.m. April 24, at the River Run Lodge near Ketchum. Call 725-2101 for details.
(Look for more on the award winners in future editions of the Express.)
Cynthia Murphy, top, Citizen of the Year, and Whitney DeBree, Youth Citizen of the Year.
