2020 Community Awards
The Staples Motley Area Community Foundation will be hosting the annual Community Awards
Banquet digitally this year. The event is scheduled for Monday, January 11th. Attendees will be able to
livestream the event. Information on where to find and login to the livestream will be published closer to
the date.
The Community Foundation has been hosting the Community Awards Banquet for nearly 20 years.
Typically the banquet was held in the fall with hundreds of attendees. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the
banquet committee had to consider a different format.
“We still wanted to have community awards and recognize the individuals and organizations that make
an impact in our region, but with the uncertainty around Covid-19 it was too difficult to schedule an
in-person event for the fall,“ said Nick Trout, Treasurer of the Staples Motley Area Community Foundation
and a member of the Community Awards Banquet Committee. “The digital ceremony this winter allows us
to give recognition where it is due and we’ll look to get back to an in-person awards banquet next year.”
As in previous years, the Community Foundation is looking for nominations for award recipients. The
deadline for nominations is Tuesday, December 1st. Nominations will be accepted in six categories.
o Citizen of the Year
o Group or Organization of the year
o Business of the Year
o Youth of the Year
o The Duane R. Lund Award for Lifetime Achievement
o Chairman’s Award
The Chairman’s Award can be suggested by the person submitting the nomination. Possibilities might
include: Volunteer of Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Educator, Police Officer, Firefighter, Medical
Person, Farmer, Child Care Provider, etc., anything that does not fit into the other five categories.
“The nomination form is just one page and is not difficult to complete,” said Melissa Birkholtz, Awards
Banquet Committee Co-Chair. “We’re glad to help if anyone has questions.”
deadline for nominations is Tuesday, December 1st. Nominations will be accepted in six categories.
o Citizen of the Year
o Group or Organization of the year
o Business of the Year
o Youth of the Year
o The Duane R. Lund Award for Lifetime Achievement
o Chairman’s Award
The Chairman’s Award can be suggested by the person submitting the nomination. Possibilities might
include: Volunteer of Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Educator, Police Officer, Firefighter, Medical
Person, Farmer, Child Care Provider, etc., anything that does not fit into the other five categories.
“The nomination form is just one page and is not difficult to complete,” said Melissa Birkholtz, Awards
Banquet Committee Co-Chair. “We’re glad to help if anyone has questions.”
The nomination form includes:
● Contact information (name, address, phone number and email address) of the
individual or organization making the nomination .
● Contact information of the individual, group, business or organization being
nominated .
● A response to the following question: How has the individual or group
contributed to the well-being of the Staples Community?
Nomination forms can be found by clicking here and can also be picked up at the Staples Motley
School District office.
Completed nomination forms should be sent to the Staples Community Foundation; P.O. Box 101;
Staples, MN 56479 or emailed to SMACF@ifound.org