Who Should be Stow's Friend of the Community?

For the first time in 22 years, the is turning to the community to solicit nominations for its 2011 Friend of the Community Award.

The annual award was created by the chamber in 1989 to recognize service by an individual who has given exceptional time and talent to the communities of Stow or Munroe Falls.

Even though the award is designed to recognize non-chamber members, nominations for recipients have always been sought only from chamber members.

Doris Stewart, chamber executive director, said this year the organization concluded it was time to ask the public for help in finding the perfect honoree.

“We decided there are probably some stories out there that we don’t know – some shining stars we aren’t aware of,” she said.

John Pribonic, president of the chamber board, said it’s only fitting that the community is involved in the process of nominating people for a community award.

“We know there are ‘unsung’ heroes out there who are not necessarily involved in the chamber, and we want the communities’ help in identifying them,” Pribonic said. “This individual will be known for giving exceptional time and talent to the Stow-Munroe Falls community.”

Nominees must work or live in the Stow-Munroe Falls community and show a long-standing commitment to the community or be an “unsung hero.” Nominees cannot be a business owner, and chamber membership is not a requirement.

As an example, Stewart said past recipients included dedicated individuals who contributed greatly to the community through their hard work with organizations such as Stow-Munroe Falls Lions Club, Pro Stow (A Positive Voice for Stow) and the chamber’s Adult Leadership and Youth Leadership programs.

The Friend of the Community Award award will be presented during the chamber-sponsored Pride Community Breakfast event set for 7:30 to 9 a.m. June 29 at Acker-Moore Memorial Post in Stow. The event, which is open to the public, attracts more than 200 people from Stow and Munroe Falls every year.

Other awards to be presented by the chamber that day include Business Person of the Year and the Volunteer of the Year. Stewart said all the awards are supposed to be surprises for the recipients, which makes it challenging at times to ensure they will attend the breakfast – particularly in the case of the “Friend of the Community” award.

“They’re often not chamber members and may not typically attend chamber events. But since Pride Week is such a community-wide event attended by so many organizations, we can often get them there that way,” she explained.

Stewart knows from experience the awards truly can be kept secret. “I received the Volunteer of the Year award in 2007 and I don’t remember how they got that past me, but they did. I was surprised,” she said with a laugh.

Deadline for Friend of the Community nominations is June 6. The final selection will be made by the chamber Board of Directors Executive Committee on June 9.

There are several ways to get a nomination form. Either print it from Stow Patch, call the chamber office at 330-688-1579, send an email request to smfcc@smfcc.com or download one from the chamber’s website.