Clark, Anderson, UltraStar big winners at chamber awards

In Hollywood, they call this awards season. But for the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce, it is really a time to honor those giving back to the community.

For the chamber’s annual Night of Heroes awards banquet, there were 37 nominees for seven awards. Presented Saturday at Harrah’s Ak-Chin, the awards honored a cross-section of the community, from teachers to big business.

According to Chamber CEO Marla Lewis, the awards are meant to recognize individuals and businesses in Maricopa “who make it a special place to live, work and play. They are all heroes on an everyday basis.”

Lee Anne Clark, a long-time volunteer at the F.O.R. Maricopa Food Bank, received the Renate Chamberlin Volunteer of the Year award.

Torri Anderson, a member Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board and board member for Against Abuse, was named the Sonny Dunn Citizen of the Year. "I was so shocked, first of all, that I forgot to thank my husband," she said. Anderson said her time with Against Abuse, completing the construction of a shelter building, has been a labor of love.

Of the organizations, UltraStar Mult-Tainment Center received “The Waz” Business of the Year award. General Manager Adam Saks and Director of Entertainment Operations Dan Terry were among those on hand to receive the award. Other finalists for the award were Dignity Health Urgent Care and Maricopa Banner Health.

"We were thrilled," Saks said. "We really appreciate the team that we have here and we just want to create great experiences."

Susana Buhisan, who teaches first grade at Butterfield Elementary School in the MUSD, was named Educator the Year.

Mary Witkofski, the community programs manager with the Maricopa Police Department, was named Civil Servant of the Year.

Hey Maricopa TV took the award for Small Business of the Year, and Gina D’Abella’s Recycling Association of Maricopa/ECO Center was named Nonprofit of the Year.

Lewis said nominations for the award were opened up to the entire Maricopa community. The 37 nominees were narrowed to the 21 finalists.

“Anyone, chamber members and community members were encouraged to make nominations,” she said. “We had a nominating committee that was made up of chamber members and past award winners, and they selected the three finalists from the nominations that we received.”