You are the 2020 Citizen of the Year

Following a year of unprecedented occurrences, Putnam County Chamber Executive Director Brian Cox makes the unprecedented announcement that everyone in the community is the 2020 Citizen of the Year.

Courtesy Putnam County Chamber

With 2020 turning out to be a year like no other, when it came time to award the Putnam County Chamber Citizen of the Year, it was a selection like no other.

You are the 2020 Citizen of the Year.

I mean you, the reader, are Citizen of the Year. In facing down a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, all of the citizens of Putnam County ended up being considered 2020 Citizen of the Year.

Conducting a brief, virtual Chamber Annual Dinner on Saturday evening, Putnam County Chamber Executive Director Brian Cox made the announcement.

Cox briefly ran through all the people who did what needed to be done for the community, a list that included small business owners, first responders, the families of first responders, hospital workers, Putnam County Hospital CEO Dennis Weatherford, the Putnam County Masked Mommas, loan officers, school officials, teachers in particular, students, funeral home directors, parents and any friend who sent a good word or lent a helping hand in tough times.

“If you want my answer on who Citizen of the Year is,” Cox said, “it’s them. They are Citizens of the Year. And by ‘they,’ I mean you. You’re Citizens of the Year.”

Visibly emotional at this point, Cox continued nonetheless. “You kept getting challenged, and you rose to those challenges. You did a great job. You should be proud.

“You are Citizens of the Year. You held our community together,” Cox concluded. “Thank you.”

It was an unusual ending to an unusual night celebrating an unusual year. Strangely, it all fit.

Cox had kicked the evening off by naming a few of the highlights and lowlights of the year that was, how words like “Zoom” and “virtual” had entered the lexicon and are now essentially foul language.

He spoke of how those in the community still came together to support one another through organizations like Putnam County Community Foundation, the United Way, 100-Plus Men Who Care, 100-Plus Women Who Care, Giving Tree and others.

“Businesses and non-profits are still going to struggle at the beginning of 2021,” Cox said, “but the Chamber and others are still going to be here for you.”

Outgoing President Beau Battin recalled some ill-fated words from his speech at the last Chamber dinner, less than two months before a pandemic started running our lives.

“The irony is that last year during my Chamber speech, I talked about togetherness,” Battin recalled. “That didn’t happen.”

In fact, the only major Chamber gathering that took place in 2020 was the annual golf outing.

“Really, 2020 left a mark on me because of the amazing people this community has,” Battin said.

A few of the amazing people from Chamber dinners past also shared their thoughts on those who made a difference, with remarks from four previous Citizens of the Year: Denise Sigworth (2001), Sue Murray (2015), Ginger Scott (2017) and Ken Eitel (2018).

Their remarks and the complete program can be viewed on the Putnam County Chamber YouTube page.

One aspect that was preserved from previous years was the silent auction, which was conducted entirely online. A total of 29 items brought in $2,610 for the Chamber’s Buy Local campaign.

Previous winners of Citizen of the Year include: Hazel Day Longden, the inaugural recipient in 1982; Hubert Clodfelter, 1983; Howard Williams, 1984; Bessie Rector, 1985; Mace Aker, 1986; Bobby G. Albright, 1987; Gerald E. Warren, 1988; David Barr, 1989; Jim Harris, 1990; Dr. James Johnson, 1991; Charles Chandler, 1992; Bob Evans, 1993; Julia “Judy” Johnson, 1994; Jerald D. Calbert, 1995; Harold Spicer, 1996; Jinsie Bingham, 1997; Dave Young, 1998; Barbara Lane, 1999; Ellen Sedlack, 2000; the trio of Lynn Wilson, Denise Sigworth and Rachel Seipel in 2001; Mike Rokicki, 2002; Joy Marley, 2003; Charles Miles, 2004; Judge Sally Gray, 2005; Dr. Donald “Doc” Brattain, 2006; Charles “Chuck” Schroeder, 2007; Lynn Bohmer, 2008; Ken Heeke, 2009; Becky Brothers, 2010; Judge Diana LaViolette, 2011; Judy Miller, 2012; Dr. Perry Wainman, 2013; Emily Knuth and Suzanne Masten, 2014; Sue Murray, 2015; Eric Bernsee, 2016; Ginger Scott, 2017; Ken Eitel, 2018; and Laurie Hardwick, 2019.