Chamber Citizen of the Year nominations now open

The Putnam County Chamber is seeking nomination for the 2021 Citizen of the Year.

The annual honor will be awarded during the Putnam County Chamber Annual Dinner, which is set for Saturday, Jan. 29 at Tiger Pointe Country Club in Greencastle.

“The Putnam County Chamber is excited to be asking you once again to nominate someone for the Putnam County Chamber’s Citizen of the Year award,” Chamber Executive Director Brian Cox said. “This is someone who you believe has gone above and beyond for our community — someone who has made our community a better place for all.”

To nominate someone, send a letter to the Chamber explaining why he or she should be Citizen of the Year with examples of accomplishments and community involvement.

The only rule that applies is the person has to be a resident of Putnam County.

Nominations are due by Jan. 17 and may be mailed to Putnam County Chamber, 12 W. Washington St., Greencastle, IN 46135 or emailed to chamber@goputco.com.

The Chamber also wished to honor and thank previous winners: 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, 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.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the collaborative efforts that went into combating the virus, the entire community was named Citizen of the Year in 2020.

The Chamber is also looking for nominations for Non-Profit of the Year with the same format.

“We want to know what they have done to strengthen and better our community,” Cox said of the non-profit award. “We are fortunate to have so many great people, businesses and nonprofits that make our community great. This is a great opportunity to say thank you.”

The Chamber’s Small Business of the Year and Large Business of the Year awards are chosen in a separate process, not requiring nominations.

Anyone with questions regarding nominations may contact the Putnam County Chamber at 653-4517.