Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner
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The 2024 Farmer City Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner was a raging success! With record attendance, amazing food, and lots of giveaways we celebrated the awardees and had lots of fun and laughter in the process!
A huge shout out to our 2024 award winners!
About The Winners
We received so many nominations this year, it was nearly impossible to pick from such an amazing pool of talented individuals, all of which help make our community the best it can be! But these individuals stood out as the Best of the Best for 2024, read more about their amazing contributions to our community!
Blue Ridge Faculty/Staff of the Year Winners
Karisa Yeagle
BRIJH ELA Teacher
Karisa Yeagle possesses the rare combination of knowledge, passion, and the ability to inspire on a level that can reach even the hardest to reach kids. She makes learning 7th grade ELA and Reading fun, and by bringing in stories about spies and espionage, she's figured out how to make every school day exciting. (Who thought that was even possible in 7th grade??) And the most amazing part about her is that she not only treats every one of the students in her classroom like her own kids, but she extends that compassion to every kid in the school. She has this ability to spot the kids that need the most love, and she showers them in it, lifts them up, and makes them believe in themselves. I have absolutely no doubt that hundreds of students have/will look back in a graduation cap and gown with gratitude to that one 7th grade ELA teacher who not only taught them to punctuate properly, but also to believe in themselves like they never had before.
Stephanie Price
Schneider Cook
Stephanie is the cook at Schneider. This year has been a very challenging year due to the fact we lost an employee for the year while they recover from a medical issue. Stephanie has stepped up and volunteered so many hours to help cover things so the children that we feed don’t even realize we are down an employee. Stephanie puts so much time and effort into making each meal along with making sure our order is correct for our suppliers and making sure things are organized when the product is delivered. This is all done while she is dealing with a husband who requires multiple trips to the dr and also her own dr appoints for herself due to a back issue. She NEVER lets that slow her down. She is the best coworker and most definitely deserves recognition for going far above and beyond for the school!
Emily Weiler
Schneider Fine Arts Teacher
Mrs. Weiler serves our Schneider community and the Blue Ridge School District community in a variety of ways. She is one of a few teachers that hosts the art gallery night for the community at the school board meeting. She also hosted an art night at Schneider during the first quarter of the school year. This event brought our school community together and was a great way to begin our school year. Mrs. Weiler is an amazing person who supports our school community in a variety of ways. She is fun and transcends that into her teaching and interactions with students, staff and families.
Blue Ridge Students of the Year
Addison Warsaw
Addison is an exemplary student, friend, and athlete. Not only has she maintained outstanding grades, she's involved in a variety of extracurriculars including cheerleading, basketball, scholastic bowl, Knight Buddies, band, student council, and track. In addition, she always participates in activities such as float building or fundraising that promote well-being and school spirit within BRHS. In addition, she's unfailingly kind to everyone she meets. Addi is truly a student who's doing it all!
Joey Cole
Joey is a hard worker, always coming up with ideas and following them through to completion. As a class aide this year he demonstrates these same qualities with his commitment to assist and support his peers as they see their projects through from concept to completion. Through his assistance and guidance the class, as a whole, builds confidence and pride in their work and work ethic.
Peyton Roy
Peyton has gone far out of his way to embrace, engage, equip, and empower the BRHS community this school year. As both captain of the football team and student body president, Peyton has been involved in the planning and organization of many of the school's activities and fundraisers. In addition to his athletic and student council duties, he has taken on responsibility for the planning of/fundraising for the 2024 senior trip. Peyton has spent many hours both in and out of school coordinating with peers and teachers, working fundraising events, developing surveys and marketing materials, and doing anything else necessary to ensure an enjoyable senior trip. Peyton's concern for the wellbeing and success of the BRHS community is clear.
Citizen of the Year
Melinda Guest
Rural communities such as Farmer City often provide people with a safe environment, good schools, space, a sense of belonging, and an opportunity to get involved and make a difference. Melinda is fairly new to Farmer City and jumped at the chance to get involved and make a difference. My particular involvement with Melinda is through the DeWitt County Development Council and the Farmer City Chamber of Commerce. She serves both of these organizations very well. She has taken a very active role with the Chamber, maintaining website and social media activities along with an officer role, creating the Business Expo and Job Fair and volunteering in the many Chamber activities. Melinda has certainly played a role (along with some other fantastic people) that has really elevated the FC Chamber of Commerce! She has also taken an active role with DCDC serving on the board of directors and recently jumping into helping to develop a Business Educational Series and serving as a grant judge. DCDC is a strong and focused organization thanks in-part to Melinda's service and commitment. These are only some of the works that Melinda has been involved with since becoming a Farmer City resident and businessperson. I am certain that I am not even aware of all of her positive activities, but the ones that I am aware of and the quality of her efforts, makes her very deserving of the award for Citizen of the Year.
Melinda has immersed herself in Farmer City since she moved here. She's ran for school board, been an integral part of the Farmer City Chamber of Commerce, got involved in DCDC, and even spent countless hours offering a free self defense class and kids safety class to make our community a safer place, just to name a few things. Her service to this town has been quiet, selfless work that has strengthened this community in a way that embodies the meaning of the Citizen of the Year, and she's done it all with pose and grace.