Chamber of Commerce Recognizes Pillars of the Community Annual Award Ceremony

The honored distinguished citizens on Saturday at the Two Hearts Banquet Center on South Lindbergh Boulevard.

“With 310 guests, it was the largest crowd in several years,” said Joan Edleson, executive director for the Affton Chamber of Commerce.

The awards banquet was coupled with the annual auction in a fun, fast-moving ceremony. At the heart of the event was the presentation of three major awards: Citizen of the Year, Business Person of the Year and Going the Extra Mile.

The mood at the "Get Your Kicks on Route 66"themed event fluctuated between raucous laugher during the auction and raffle to respectful calm during the honoree's heartfelt acceptance speeches.

The Citizen of the Year went to the head of the Affton Christian Food Pantry (ACFP), Eugene Haessig. The , based at the St. George Parish Center, has affiliations with 11 other churches as well as connections with St. Louis Food Pantry and Operation Food Search. Haessig manages the pantry and its more than 400 volunteers.

“He’s down there all the time, even on his days off,” Edleson said.

Suzanne Welker of walked away with the Business Person of the Year Award. An involved citizen, Welker has been board president of the Chamber of Commerce and the chairman of the banquet committee. This year, she will chair the committee, which plans the Affton Days parade and festival, the chamber's biggest event.

The Going the Extra Mile award went to a government official who works beyond the call of duty to help the community. This year’s recipient was State Representative Patricia Yaeger. In addition to working with the chamber on many issues, Yaeger also makes sure to send a letter to new area residents, welcoming them and letting them know she is available to help with any questions or problems.

“I worked in the community with their issues and actually took part in some of their cleanups,” Yaeger said. “I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty.”

In addition to the three major awards of the night, there were also the Harold O. Kessler Beautification Awards, named after a much-loved former chamber president, whose family presents the awards every year. The awards for Commercial New Construction went to and River City Casino. The Commercial Renovation honor was awarded to Plumbing Engineers, Reinhold Electric Supplies, and .

After the event, Edleson said that she thought the auction was successful. With friendly bidding wars continuing until the last minute, items including an Albert Pujols home jersey and a hand crafted, wood furniture were raking in some big money. The mood was jovial as the more outspoken community members cracked jokes between bids.

“At our age, we’re supposed to be getting rid of stuff,” said Joe Weinmann of Kenrick’s Meat and Catering as he held up a new end table he'd won.

The next event for Edleson and the chamber is the Exceptional Educators Banquet on March 10, right about the time when they start planning next year’s Award Ceremony.