OLATHE, Kan., January 31, 2013 —The Olathe Chamber of Commerce named Harlan Parker of Harlan Parker State Farm, “Citizen of the Year” and Terracon Consultants, “Corporate Citizen of the Year,” at its 93rd Annual Meeting today at the Ritz Charles in Overland Park. The Chamber also presented its “Volunteer of the Year” award to Kathleen Saunders. Award winner biographies and additional information can be found below.
Chairman of the Chamber’s 2013 Board of Directors, Ramin Cherafat, McCownGordon Construction, presented the awards and reviewed the successes and highlights of the last year under his leadership. At the conclusion of the meeting, he named Nicolle Welsh, Farmers Insurance, the new chairman of the Board of Directors for 2014.
This year’s meeting also featured a presentation from Raymond Towle, executive director, political affairs and federation relations at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who spoke about the Olathe Chamber’s recent Five-Star Accreditation designation from the organization.
The 2014 Annual Meeting was co-sponsored by the Olathe Medical Center. Other sponsors who made this event possible include: Applied Measurement Professionals Inc., Bank of Blue Valley, Farmers Insurance Group, Garmin, Gilmore & Bell, John Deere, McCownGordon Construction, Olathe Public Schools and Pepsi Beverages Company.
2013 Citizen of the Year – Harlan Parker
This March, Harlan Parker State Farm will celebrate 35 years of continuous membership in the Olathe Chamber. Harlan and his wife Vickie opened their agency from scratch in 1979 and until Vickie’s recent passing, the couple worked side-by-side, receiving numerous company and industry awards over the years, including the State Farm’s President’s Club award, for which Harlan is a lifetime member and six-time trophy recipient – an award given to the top 10 State Farm agencies in the county.
Over the past 35 years, Harlan has been an avid supporter of countless Chamber-sponsored events, as well as events throughout the entire Olathe community. A past Chairman of the Chamber Board of Directors, Harlan is a graduate of the Leadership Olathe program and was also the recipient of the Chamber’s Volunteer of the Year award in 1994. He has (and continues to) serve on numerous advisory councils, committees and task forces throughout the community, including the Olathe Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund, the Olathe YMCA and KidsTLC, just to name a few. And in 2011, Harlan was re-elected to his fourth 4-year term of the School Board for the Olathe Public Schools.
Thanks to their unwavering community support, Harlan and Vickie are also recipients of the Commerce Bank Olathe Community Service Award, and Harlan is the newest member of the Olathe Medical Center’s Hospice House Advisory Committee.
2013 Corporate Citizen of the Year – Terracon Consultants
Terracon is a 100-percent employee-owned consulting engineering firm that has pro¬vided quality engineering services to clients since 1965. From its roots in geotechnical engineering, Terracon has evolved into a successful multi-discipline firm specializing in environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services for private and public sector clients. Terracon currently operates more than 140 offices nationwide with more than 3,000 employees and ranks 38th on Engineering News-Record’s list of Top 500 Design Firms in the nation.
2013 Volunteer of the Year – Kathleen Saunders
As a volunteer for the Olathe Chamber, Kathleen Saunders is often the first face you’ll see at one of our events. On a weekly basis, she greets new members and guests at the Chamber Coffee and emcees ribbon cuttings to welcome and celebrate new business owners and representatives. Saunders is also an active member of the Chairman’s Liaison committee and has volunteered her time to serve on the Blazing New Trails committee, the Chamber’s annual fundraiser and auction, for the past several years.
2013 Bartlett-Olsen Membership Achievement Awards
The 2013 Bartlett-Olson Membership Achievement Award was presented to members who recruited a minimum of $4,000 in new member investments over the course of a year. Bartlett-Olson Award recipients this year are:
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Nancy Carr, Johnson County/K-State Research & Extension
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Garry Poore, Heritage Companies
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Larry Schneider, Miracles with Water
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Cathy Weaver, Miracles with Water
2013 Ambassador of the Year – David White
David White is owner of FASTSIGNS Olathe, where he’s worked for over a decade. Since opening his franchise, David has been actively involved with the Olathe Chamber, serving on the Chairman’s Liaison committee, participating in the Chamber’s annual membership drives, and of course, as an ambassador for the Olathe Chamber of Commerce. As an ambassador, White can be found at nearly every Chamber event, including the weekly networking coffees where he often emcees the program.
About the Olathe Chamber of Commerce
The Olathe Chamber of Commerce is the largest chamber in Johnson County and the second largest chamber in the Kansas City area. It was the first chamber in the state to receive Five-Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – a designation obtained by only 1 percent of the nation’s chambers. To date, the Olathe Chamber remains a Five-Star-Accredited Chamber. Its mission is to be the voice of business that advances the economic wellbeing and quality of life in Olathe.
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