Community Applause Awards

The Community Applause Awards, co-sponsored by the Oregon Bankers Association/Independent Community Banks of Oregon and Oregon Business magazine since 1996, are an excellent way for Oregon banks to acknowledge the efforts of business customers that play a significant role in community activities. A winner is selected annually in two size categories - less than 50 employees and 50 or more employees - and is awarded a commemorative plaque and a $1,000 donation to a non-profit community organization of their choice. The businesses are also featured in a full-page ad in Oregon Business magazine.

Who can nominate a business for the Community Applause Awards?
Any employee of an OBA/ICBO member bank.

What kind of business can be nominated?
Any legitimate for-profit business in Oregon can be nominated in either the "less than 50 employees" category or the "50 or more employees" category.

How does one make a nomination?
There is a pdf version of the nomination form that can be obtained by clicking here (requires Adobe Acrobat), or a banker may contact the OBA at 503-581-3522 or office@oregonbankers.com to obtain a hard copy of the form.

What is the deadline for submitting a nomination?
The nomination deadline for the 2007 awards has passed. Stay tuned for information on submitting nominations for 2008.

About the 2007 Winners

The Oregon Bankers Association (OBA), in partnership with the Independent Community Banks of Oregon (ICBO) and Oregon Business magazine, recently announced that the Portland Valve and Fitting Company and The Corvallis Clinic are the receipients of the 2007 Community Applause Awards. The award competition was open to all Oregon banks to nominate their business customers in recognition for their service in the community.

During the recent OBA/ICBO Annual Directors & Officers Winter Conference, the OBA's Chairman Rich Brown presented a commemorative plaque to representatives from both companies and each received a $1,000 check to be donated to a non-profit organization of their choice. The Portland Valve and Fitting Company selected the Albertina Kerr Center and The Corvallis Clinic selected its own charitable foundation, the Corvallis Clinic Foundation.

"The Portland Valve and Fitting Company and The Corvallis Clinic exemplify the ideal recipients of the Community Applause Award for their remarkable contributions to their respective communities," said OBA's President and CEO Linda Navarro.

Nominated by Lisa Faust of Pacific Continental Bank, Portland Valve and Fitting Company won in the Business with less than 50 employees category for their generous volunteer work with organizations such as the Beaverton Education Foundation and the Albertina Kerr Centers.

The Corvallis Clinic won in the Business with more than 50 employees category, and was nominated by Citizens Bank's Bill Humphreys, Jr. The Corvallis Clinic is profoundly committed to its community and provides an average of 2,000 volunteer hours each year, sponsors numerous events, and donates thousands of band-aids to deserving organizations.

The clinic's Corvallis Clinic Foundation was founded over 50 years ago by a group of doctors with a vision and desire to support the local community and provide health care to those unable to provide for themselves.

The OBA also honored retired banker, Esther Loewen, for her 62 years of banking service at Wells Fargo and its predecessor owners, First National Bank of Portland, First National Bank of Oregon and First Interstate Bank of Oregon. Loewen, 82, started at the bank in February 1944 and served the evolving financial needs of her customers with integrity until her retirement in October 2007.

"In all the years Esther spent in the service of the bank, she has always been a model of loyalty and enthusiasm," says Dave Frosaker, Loewen's manager at Wells Fargo.