Chamber honorees given well-deserved recognition
Chamber of Commerce officials selected top-notch community leaders to recognize during their annual banquet Monday night.
Honored for their many contributions were Carrie Huckeby, Ron Wilson and Larry Flatt. The three award recipients stood out in a county where there’s no shortage of tireless volunteers, resourceful entrepreneurs and distinguished citizens.
As all three acknowledged in their comments, there are many deserving individuals for these awards. That’s why their efforts and contributions are even more noteworthy because Huckeby, Wilson and Flatt made themselves noticeable in a community with so many remarkable people.
Huckeby was honored as Volunteer of the Year and she certainly has her hands full outside her job at Ben Lomand. She is a past president of McMinnville’s Noon Exchange Club, which has been one of the top Exchange Clubs in its region in recent years.
Huckeby was chairperson of the Sponsorship Committee in what was a highly successful Relay for Life fundraiser. The all-night walk at Warren County Middle School’s track was in its inaugural year in this county, but that didn’t stop it from earning tens of thousands of dollars.
Huckeby is also active with the Chamber of Commerce and is a 1995 graduate of Leadership McMinnville.
Ron Wilson is one of the truly great Warren County success stories. As owner of Morrison Tool and Fab, his company has seen its workforce multiply at a time when just about every other business is downsizing. That’s the main reason he was given the Chamber’s Free Enterprise Award.
When Wilson took over Morrison Tool and Fab, there were 14 employees. Today, after 10 years at the helm, he has 125 employees with two locations in Mountain View Industrial Park. Morrison Tool and Fab caters to over 300 customers.
Wilson is also chairman of the board of directors for Homeland Community Bank, which just recently celebrated its grand opening.
The Chamber’s Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award was given to Flatt, who was described during the banquet as a “get-it-done kind of guy.” That description is certainly fitting.
Flatt has been one of the main organizers for the annual Christmas parade and was instrumental in bringing Downtown Movie Night to McMinnville’s Court Square.
Flatt has earned the nickname as the “Funnel Cake King” for his work in the Leadership Warren and Leadership McMinnville food booth during downtown events. He is a 1997 Leadership McMinnville graduate and former president of Leadership Warren.
For these reasons and many others, Chamber of Commerce officials should be commended for their award choices. Larry Flatt, Ron Wilson and Carrie Huckeby are upstanding Warren countians who serve this community well.