Othello chamber honors hometown heroes

Past president says chamber growing as 'future force'

OTHELLO - One wouldn't know it by watching them, but an annual banquet Friday was the first of its kind for several Scootney Springs Elementary School students.

Ariana Ashton, Tatum Sparks and Benjamin Azevedo were amongst the fifth graders in attendance at the Greater Othello Chamber of Commerce's annual banquet Friday, held at the Othello High School, to bestow flowers and well wishes upon their teacher, Lisa Davis, who received the Teacher of the Year Award for kindergarten through the sixth grade.

"Miss Davis is an awesome teacher and she really deserves this award," Ashton said.

"Yeah, because like she's awesome," Sparks echoed. "She loves everyone."

"Mrs. Davis is a very caring teacher, she cares about everybody and she is very fun, exciting," Azevedo said.

Azevedo said he liked the banquet so far, especially the table decorations donated by Othello businesses.

"I really like how they set up the tables and I just think it's amazing how much time they spent to make this," he said.

Davis wasn't the only one with a cheering section in attendance at Friday's festivities.

The whole community turned out to support the winners of the annual awards: Law Enforcement Officer of the Year John Pierre, Davis, Teacher of the Year for Grades Seven Through 12 Thomas Christensen, Firefighter of the Year Erika Heist, Citizen of the Year Merritt Johnson and Business of the Year Othello Community Hospital.

"Because of the affliction I have and the medications I take, I can't carry a gun anymore, can't carry even a retirement badge or anything like that," Pierre said. "But I still hold a lot of memories in my heart and I feel like I'm honored to have received from you the respect and the trust to have served you, and I hope I returned that trust with honor. Thank you."

He retired in early January due to ongoing illness.

When Davis accepted her award, she became quite emotional during her acceptance speech, jokingly requesting that the students who looked on from the sidelines holding flowers turn around as she became choked up, then apologizing later and asking them to turn back around when she realized they actually had.

Davis compared teaching to rafting down the most intense rapids - both activities she loves.

"They're my kids. I may not have given birth to them, but they are truly, truly my children," she said of her students. "No one hates the end of the year more than I do. I hate the last day of school, because I love my students. Not in the way their parents do, but I truly feel endeared toward them. I think about them. I worry for them. I delight in them. I'm fascinated with them and I'm grateful for them."

The next recipient was an Othello High School Spanish and drama teacher. Christensen said he is often asked why he would choose to spend his days with more than 100 teenagers each year.

"Frankly, and it may seem strange, I love those kids," he said. "They are at a very unique time in their lives, and to be able to observe that and be a part of that is more rewarding than anything, any reward one could give."

Heist accepted the award for all the volunteer firefighters in the department.

"I hope to set a good example to my daughters to volunteer and participate in communities that they live in," she said.

With wife Charlette by his side, Johnson said the pair was committed to the community.

"When you ask me to do something or you ask her to do something, you get both of us," Johnson said. "We have never been apart, we never will be apart. We will be a team."

Othello Community Hospital Board of Directors President Larry McCourtie accepted the award on the hospital's behalf.

"I cannot tell you how proud I am of the progress made in our hospital," McCourtie told the audience. "Well, I can and I will."

The hospital recently celebrated its 50th anniversary providing health care for the community.

"We have all traveled to a lot of small towns, yet I have never come across another community our size with such state-of -the art medical facilities and high-quality providers as we have here at the Othello Community Hospital and Columbia Basin Health Association," McCourtie said. "The level of medical technology and sophistication in Othello, I believe, is simply unsurpassed in any other small community and probably quite a few larger ones too."

Chamber past president John Lackie said the year offered big learning situations for the organization.

"I think, generally speaking, the way we're looked at in the city has gotten a lot stronger," he said. "I think people see us as a future force with the city, and we're growing. We're getting new members all the time and there are people stepping up to help us, which is something we haven't had in the past."

Lackie noted there were more people in attendance at the banquet than the chamber had anticipated.

"And there's a lot of people we haven't seen at these functions before, so that tells me we're reaching out and we're getting people," he said.

President Brent Giles said he hopes to increase membership in the chamber.

"We have roughly 160 members, and my goal is to meet with as many of them as I can this year," he said. "Talk to them about their needs, explain to them how there's a lot of things the chamber runs, and how being a part of that will help expose your business to different people and build relationships with different customers."

Giles believes he would feel successful if businesses felt the chamber was beneficial to them.

Somethin' About Harmony provided live entertainment during the banquet. Ehman Sheldon served as master of ceremonies.