Please join us in congratulating the 2023 Tigard Shining Star Award Recipients and thanking them for their service to our Tigard community. Awards were formally presented at Tigard’s 2023 Shining Stars Community Awards Gala Presented by Edge One Media, which can be viewed on the Tigard Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
For further details about Shining Stars, please contact the Tigard Chamber of Commerce at 503-639-1656 or megan@tigardchamber.org or go to our website at www.tigardchamber.org.
Maureen Wolf has been selected as the 2023 Tigard Shining Stars “From the Heart” Volunteer of the Year.
Named in honor of Jim Hartman, who set the standard for this award by his example of giving from the heart to his community, the “From the Heart” award honors a person who has dedicated their time and energy to a specific cause in the Tigard community. This person gives willingly, energetically, and consistently; they might be well known or might be a “quiet” volunteer who always gives “from the heart”!
Maureen Wolf was selected for this award for her dedication to the Tigard Community through her volunteerism and fundraising efforts over the past 25+ years. She has specifically helped the Tigard Tualatin School District. Here are just a few of the projects she has been part of in our community when it has needed it most:
- Served as Director of Fundraising on the Election Information Advisory Committee (EIAC) since 2004.
- Served the Foundation for Tigard-Tualatin Schools as a Board Member from 2004-2009, President from 2007-2009, and Treasurer in 2006.
- TTSD School Board director for 12 years.
- She Co-founded Packed with Pride, a community-based food program founded during the pandemic. Since its founding, Packed with Pride has provided over 52,000 food boxes and raised over $850,000 for food boxes to serve Tigard and Tualatin families in need.
- President of Oregon School Boards Association 2021, where she has been on the Board of OSBA since 2014.
- NW Regional Education Service District Board Member 2021 to present.
As if that was not enough, she is a sitting City Councilor working overtime to best serve her community’s needs.
Steve DeAngelo has been selected as the 2023 Tigard’s First Citizen.
This award recognizes someone who has made in-depth, long-term volunteer contributions to the Tigard community over the years. The winner is active, involved, interested, and enthusiastic about making Tigard a nice place to live and work. This individual excels in the area of unpaid endeavors of education, social services, youth work, and community improvement of public services.
Steve DeAngelo has spent thousands of hours volunteering and playing a vital role in revitalizing Downtown Tigard, the greater Tigard Community, and The Portland Metropolitan Area for over 40 years.
As the Past President of the Tigard Downtown Alliance, an all-volunteer led non-profit organization focused on the revitalization of Downtown Tigard, Steve brought together key stakeholders from the City of Tigard, the Tigard community, and local businesses to help grow and revitalize Downtown Tigard into what you will see unveiled later this year. Under his leadership, the Tigard Downtown Alliance:
- Founded and organized itself with Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation in 2014
- Organized, applied for, and received its 501 c (3) status in Feb 2016
- Applied for and received a $52K WCVA grant and raised $9.5K in private funding to design, purchase and install new Main Street décor and functional elements like the hanging glass baskets, bike racks, bike fix stations, additional benches, and the cross-street banner system.
- Applied for and received a $5K Metro grant for a SubUrban Art project as part of Artwalk 2015, which won an Oregon Main Street Award.
- Growing three major community events: Street Fair, Trick or Treat Main Street, and Holiday Tree Lighting.
- Steve now heads up the design and beautification component area for the Tigard Downtown Alliance and is currently engaged in procuring five new public art pieces.
Kelley Ayotte, Loan Officer with Mortgage Solutions Financial, has been named the 2023 Tigard Chamber Ambassador of the Year.
Our Ambassador of the Year Award is presented to an Ambassador volunteer who significantly displays a positive perception of the Chamber through active participation, an optimistic attitude, and solid business practices. The recipient is active, involved, interested, and enthusiastic about making the Tigard Chamber a great organization!
Ambassador Chair Micah Dorr had this to say about Kelley: “Kelley Ayotte joined the Ambassador Team with a desire to give back to the Chamber. Not long after joining, the Ambassador Team Leaders recognized her boundless energy, positive attitude, and attention to detail and asked her to consider the Secretary position. Kelly jumped into the Secretary position headfirst and immediately began using her organizational skills to improve the systems and processes of the Ambassador Team. Through her efforts, the weekly Chamber networking events have become an even bigger success. We selected Kelley because of her energy, attitude, and willingness to volunteer wherever she is needed. Kelley always has a smile on her face that she spreads wherever she goes.”
Dani Sticka, Professional Organizer and Owner of Imperfectly Tidy, has been named the 2023 Tigard Chamber Young Professional of the Year.
This award recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of a highly motivated, emerging professional of the Tigard Chamber Community. They or their employer must be an active and involved Member of the Tigard Chamber. They must demonstrate excellence in their field, creativity, and show initiative within their company, profession, and/or the Tigard Community. They must be between the ages of 18 to 40 years old.
Dani Sticka is a perfect example of all of the above. She has been helping individuals and businesses realize that less is probably the answer for several years. Throughout that time, Dani has realized the full value that she provides. She has taken time to partner with realtors to provide a niche service that will continue to blossom and grow over time. She has formed strong relationships with strategic partners and Tigard Chamber businesses to not only help her business grow, but help her community grow as well. She was instrumental in the giveback to Family Promise last year through the Chamber Holiday Happy Hour event our Ambassador team hosts annually. She is a champion for growing our Chamber community, and she has wonderful ideas and impeccable follow-through.
Tanya Christensen, MBA, Real Estate Broker with Coldwell Banker Bain, has been named the 2023 Tigard Chamber Volunteer of the Year.
This award honors a Tigard Chamber Member who has volunteered many hours of time, talent, and energy to the success and growth of the Tigard Chamber. This person must be an active and involved Member of the Chamber who has sustained their efforts on behalf of the Tigard Chamber for a long time. Through their efforts, they have made our organization more effective in serving the Tigard Community at large.
Tanya Christensen is an example of this at its best! Tanya is not only a Board Member of the Tigard Chamber, but she is Co-Chair of the Ambassador Team, too, after serving as Secretary. As if that was not enough, she has played a vital role in our Building Committee, assisting the CEO with maintenance and tenant relations. She also helped our CEO and Board Chair keep Leadership Tigard running smoothly. She has assisted the previous year’s Leadership Tigard class graduates in planning this year’s programming and logistics and will continue with this class until graduation in June. Because of her efforts, this year’s class has not skipped a beat and has had one of the best experiences of any of our classes thus far.
CEO Megan De Salvo had this to say about Tanya “Whenever you are around Tanya, her positivity and leadership light up the room. She cares deeply about this Chamber, the Tigard Community, and she is a prime example of service above self.”
Aishiki Nag has been selected as the 2023 Tigard Youth Volunteer of the Year, named in honor of former Mayor Jim Nicoli, who passed away in 2000.
Mayor Nicoli’s dedication to the youth of our community was a fitting way to honor his name and award a youth in our community who volunteers to make a difference. Many young people in Tigard are active in volunteer efforts, and it is our pleasure to acknowledge their contributions of dedication, energy, and community spirit. They are our future!
Former Mayor Jason Snider said, “Youth Councilor Nag has served the Tigard community, the City of Tigard, and Tigard High School over the last two years as the Youth Councilor on the Tigard City Council. However, her contributions to youth and our community only begin there. She has organized large-scale voter registration drives and political forums that even included the Secretary of State as a speaker in person. Her passion and drive to improve our community is infectious!” Aishiki is active in several clubs; Tigard High School Amnesty, Stop Teenage Underage Drinking & Drugs (STUDD), Model United Nations, Asian Culture Club, FTC Robotics team, and the National Honors Society. She is an intern for the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and a member of Next Up’s Youth Action Team. She says, “Testifying at the state legislature in front of the Committee of Rules was one of the most empowering experiences I have had.”
Center Street Gold & Silver, owned by Dennis Johnson, has been selected as the 2023 Tigard Chamber Business of the Year.
This award recognizes a Chamber Member business that has made in-depth contributions to the Tigard Community through their business. The winner is active, involved, interested, and enthusiastic about continuing to make Tigard a destination of choice for local businesses.
Dennis Johnson has created a one-of-a-kind boutique Gold, Silver, and other Precious Metals trading business in the heart of Downtown Tigard. For more than 40 years, he has been working closely with individuals and businesses in broadening their portfolios to include many different types of precious metals. Through his distinguished career as a commodities broker, Dennis has provided expert commentary for The Oregonian, financial workshops and seminars, and other news and radio outlets.
In April 2017, Dennis Johnson was awarded the Volunteer of the Year award at Shining Stars. Since that time, he has touched the lives and hearts of nearly every Member and Nonprofit in our Chamber and Community at large. Through fundraising events he supports, to matching dollars he provides, to the advice he offers when members have family who pass and leave behind sentimental items, the goodwill Dennis and his team have injected into our community is a currency that keeps on giving.
In addition to these efforts, most of which go unrecognized, Dennis and his team at Center Street Gold & Silver also give to our Chamber. Our Scholarship Fund is one of the major ways our Chamber gives back annually. Each year Dennis donates to this fund, and this year it was enough to fund two of our scholarships.
They host annual holiday drives where they collect donations for local organizations. With Love is one of the recipients of these drives.
As you can see, Center Street Gold & Silver has impacted our community, and Dennis and his team will continue to do so for many years to come.
