Sue Noel stole the show at Friday's annual banquet celebrating the Wood River Valley Community Award winners. She was supposed to receive an award for Service Individual of the Year, but decided to also be the night's entertainment.
"You can always trust me to do something crazy," she said in an interview.
Instead of simply giving her thanks, the Atkinsons' Market customer service representative sang "Thanks for the Memories," which she rewrote for the occasion.
"Thanks for the memories/My customers are nice/I'm concierge of vice/With cigarettes and gambling/What's next, drinks over ice?" she sang.
A couple hundred people showed up at the Valley Club north of Hailey for a night replete with laughter, one standing ovation after another and excited applause.
The Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau and Hailey Chamber of Commerce picked seven winners out of a list of people nominated for improving the valley's quality of life. Before awards were presented, a video interview was played of winners in their environments.
Youth Citizen of the Year Juan Martinez was filmed at Wood River High School, where he's a senior, belongs to two school choirs and plays football, basketball and baseball. He also volunteers in an elementary school classroom.
"It is natural for me to be busy," he said.
Citizen of the Year John Chapman has also been busy planning an assisted-living facility near Hailey.
"That's very important for the community. I'm going to spend the rest of my life on that so it's there when I need it," he joked.
The final individual winner was Arts Advocate of the Year Judith Smooke, whose goal is to explore ways of exposing more children to the arts.
The Wood River Community YMCA in Ketchum was named Nonprofit of the Year and had about 20 workers and board members in attendance.
"The greatest reward isn't the building," said board member Benjamin Wood about the impressive YMCA facility, "but seeing all the people come through the doors."
He said 30 percent of the county's population are members.
Dan Wherry, Cox Communications' valley director of operations, accepted the Business of the Year award for his branch.
"The year was not without challenges, obviously," he said of repeated transmission glitches.
However, he said, the award reflects Cox's behind-the-scenes support of youth and education through financial and volunteer contributions.
Hailey-based Western Watersheds Project was awarded Environmental Advocate of the Year. Creator Jon Marvel accepted the award for the 17-year-old organization that works to protect public lands and wildlife, which is especially important to Blaine County. He said 84 percent of the county is public land.
The ceremony ended promptly following the final award presentation, but Noel said the praise for her service would always be remembered.
"I feel like I went to my own funeral and heard my eulogy," she said.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
Nearly 20 of the Wood River Community YMCA’s workers and board members took advantage of the rare chance to dress formal as they accepted the award for Valley Nonprofit of the Year on Friday. Photo by Willy Cook
