Othello chamber toasts hometown heroes

President: Organization advances toward unity

OTHELLO— Emotional acceptance speeches and potato products up for auction.

They were just two of the things the Greater Othello Chamber of Commerce annual banquet had to offer, as attendees gathered in the Othello High School commons Thursday evening.

The annual banquet served as a place for the chamber and the Othello community to honor and celebrate winners of the chamber's annual awards, winners of which were nominated by the community earlier in the year.

Citizen of the Year award winners Dave and Ann Sperl said they were humbled and honored by the award, which they received for their involvement on an Othello beautification committee.

"We did a lot of work, but we didn't intend to get recognition for it," Ann said.

"Our goal was to make things look nicer in Othello, and this is a result of that, but we had a lot of help," Dave agreed. "All we did was spearhead it, and people fell in line."

Ann noted the efforts were not limited to herself and her husband. A committee of eight others were involved.

"There's lots of people that have not been out there with a hoe, but they've been out there with money," she said. "Both the money and the help … we couldn't do it without both."

Bob and Donna Reichert, owners of Reichert's Showhouse, the Business of the Year, and their son, Rob, the movie theater general manager, were all in attendance for the banquet.

"We're pretty well-known in the town, this will just give us more recognition," Donna said, adding with a chuckle, "It's about the only thing to do in this town."

"It gives us the feeling we're doing something right," Bob said.

Firefighter of the Year winner Gary Byers figured someone would be more deserving than he was.

"It's a great honor, for getting it," he said. "I wanted to give back to the community what they gave me over the years."

Byers has been in Othello since 1959. He became interested in firefighting because his friends were firefighters, he said, so he started hanging around the fire department after high school. He's been with the fire department since 1971.

Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Bob Hampton was unable to attend for medical reasons, so his 21-year-old son Blake accepted the award.

"I think it just kind of sums up all the years of dedication he's had to his job," Blake said.

Bob Hampton marks 35 years in service this April.

"It made me really proud. I know he's deserving of it. He's always putting in the hours. I think he really enjoys his job."

The Teacher of the Year award winners — Lutacaga Elementary second-grade teacher Amy Harwood and McFarland Junior High School seventh math and science teacher Steve Parris — both got emotional during their speeches as they thanked or made reference to relatives who were also teachers.

"I think it's always nice being honored, but the greatest reward comes from the kids," Harwood said before the ceremony. "It's the day-to-day relationship with the kids that I find the most pleasure from."

Teaching has been Harwood's passion for as long as she can remember.

"I was one of those who had the chalkboard in her basement, gathered up all the old schoolbooks, taught my sister and taught the dog and all that stuff," she recalled.

Parris said he was honored, humbled and embarrassed.

"There's just so many great teachers out there, I would love to see a lot more of them get an opportunity for an award like this," he said. "It's just one of those things that teachers don't get honored near as much as they should … so I find it to be a great honor to be able to accept it."

The evening also included a buffet dinner, recognition of the 2006 chamber board members and a raffle throughout the event.

"The chamber of commerce is made up of the businesses in the area," Chamber President John Lackie said during his remarks. "We are nothing without the businesses and the businesses come together in our chambers to try to make things happen."

When Lackie assumed the presidency, the chamber tried to move to create a unified chamber, he said, and some advances have been made.

"What we have done more is we've unified the people within the chamber we have now," Lackie said. "I'm very proud of that. I think we look forward to next year, we look forward to where we're going and what the future holds for us."