By KRISTI MAYFIELD
It was an evening of celebration on Friday, Feb. 28 as the 79th Annual Oakdale Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner honored some of the community’s best and brightest. With more than 150 people in attendance at the Gene Bianchi Community Center, attendees gathered for good food, great fun and creating memories. The local H-B catered the event with a menu that featured steak and scalloped potatoes as the headliners.
Chamber CEO Cher Bairos reiterated why the legacy of honoring dedicated citizens that strive to make Oakdale such a wonderful place to live is so important, highlighting those that make a difference. Among those honored, Allison Schwartz of Guild Mortgage and Board President for the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce, received special recognition for her work within the Chamber and the community. From young professionals to non-profits to various achievements, the honorees included lifelong residents along with newer community members that have already made quite an impact in the Cowboy Capital.
Landon Arnold, who received the Junior Achievement Award, started a book club and volunteered more than 150 hours to community service during the previous year. The honor of the Young Professional of the Year went to Grayson Haydn-Myer. Wearing an outfit complete with a cowgirl hat adorned with pink flowers, she has dedicated her life to supporting the ranching way of life through her work and volunteer service. Members of the Oakdale Enrichment Society were delighted to take home the honor of Non-Profit/Service Club of the Year. Erica and Roberto Escobar of Ike Loa Candle Co. were honored with the award for Business of the Year. Among the many worthy candidates for Citizen of the Year, Christopher Smith, Mayor Pro Tem and Oakdale City Council Member, took home that distinctive honor.
Bairos shared that the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Steve Medlen, is a man of few words and prefers to live outside of the spotlight but on Friday, as he took the podium to accept his award, he shared some touching anecdotes about some of the former citizens that helped shape the community. His thoughts included Gene Bianchi – for whom the Community Center is named – and C.P. Collinsworth, who helped build the Oakdale Golf & Country Club, along with MaryAnne Heath, former owner of Moss Rose Bakery, putting in long hours as she baked a variety of delicious delights. Medlen referred to Heath as the “hardest working gal” he has ever known as he reminisced.
As he shared his gratitude for his wife and partner Cindi, Medlen elaborated on how important his family has been to ensuring that his business, House of Beef, has continued to thrive for more than four decades. He noted how his wife served as a meat wrapper, accountant and pretty much anything they needed while he was launching his business. Medlen thanked all of his children: Stephanie, for keeping a smile on his face; Stacy (Petey), for bringing him so much joy; and Butch, for being one of the finest meat cutters he knows.
Settling in to the spotlight on Friday, Medlen spoke with great eloquence as he closed with a touching story about his nephew Eric Medlen, a talented professional race car driver who died in a tragic accident in 2007. Medlen shared how Eric’s father John was asked to speak to a group about the loss of his son and how Eric, just as in life, touched his father’s heart and brought the words to his father John in a dream to share with the group. Medlen went on to tell a story about Eric learning to ride a bike with training wheels and how he took to it right away so John was able to remove the training wheels and let go of the bike as Eric was already riding up and down the block without any problems. Eric came to his dad in that dream, Medlen added, and told him that even though he was gone, he had left his mark in the world and that it was okay to let him go. As the Lifetime Achievement honoree addressed the audience, Medlen said that he hoped that he had left his mark on this community. Judging by the smiles and tears of the audience members, it would seem that he definitely has.
