The North Pole Community Chamber of Commerce announced the 2022 Annual Awards Winners at their monthly luncheon which featured the Business of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, and Citizen of the Year. The process, which was revised this year, paved the way for nominations from the community at-large, rather than just from Chamber board members. Nominations were submitted by any person who knew someone living in the North Pole Community that met the criteria for each category.

Business of the Year

The purpose of the Business of the Year award is to honor a business that contributes to the economic growth and quality of life in the North Pole community, whose business practices contribute to a sense of cooperation, whose marketing or business strategy result in economic growth, whose business model includes community involvement and increasing quality of life, and who is also known for exceptional customer service. The 2022 Business of the Year is Gavora Inc., operated by Matthew Gavora.

Matthew Gavora led the way in making North Pole a go-to place in the community. He has continued his support and sponsorship of the Cruis’n with Santa Car Show & Street Fair, the Chamber’s Spring and Winter Bazaars, the Winterfest Fireworks, job fairs, health fairs, hosting NPCCC luncheons & coffees, the Buzz Otis Memorial Dog Sled Championships headquarters, and the community message board marquee. And as of late, Matthew Gavora has made great concessions to making the new Welcome Center possible.

Volunteer of the Year

The purpose of the Volunteer of the Year award is to honor a volunteer whose dedicated service had a significant impact in the community they serve, who continually volunteers their time, dedication and talent to the North Pole community to make it a great place to live, work, play, and learn, who exhibits a solid working relationship with peers and fellow volunteers, and who is positive with inspiring personal attributes that serve to encourage others. The 2022 Volunteer of the Year is Misty Posekany.

Misty joined an unfamiliar organization, the North Pole Community Chamber of Commerce as President, without any hesitation, to serve on a board which experienced a 100% turnover, without any continuity provided from previous years. Her leadership was inspiring, leading to a complete rejuvenation of the organization’s purpose and commitment to capitalizing on opportunities to make significant contributions to community development in light of recent population surges. She spurred the surveying of community needs, so Chamber efforts would be more responsive to new ideas, versus just replicating the past. She inspired events that were filled with positive impact and embraced last minute projects thrown upon the board and pulled them off with the true North Pole attitude of year-round Christmas Spirit. Through her willingness to expend endless hours of research, Misty transformed the Chamber to be the true face of the North Pole community by building a 12-month calendar of recurring and special North Pole events & activities and by giving people great reasons to visit, live, and thrive in the North Pole community. She led the Chamber through a hard decision to depart from a historical landmark that had lost its luster—an old, antiquated visitor center, to the redefinition of a Welcome Center that will be a year-round, multi-purpose facility that will impact the full scope of economic development and community connectedness of the North Pole community.

Citizen of the Year

The purpose of the Citizen of the Year is to honor a citizen who has had a significant impact in the community and serves as a role model, who is actively involved in the community, has demonstrated a personal commitment to the benefit of the community, has positive and inspiring personal attributes that serve to encourage others, and who has performed an outstanding achievement or act of heroism. The 2022 Citizen of the Year is Larnetia Skipps.

Larnetia Skipps is a very involved citizen and an unsung hero in the North Pole community. Saying “no” is not in her vocabulary—Larnetia cares! The very idea of citizenship is engrained in her daily life. She is a parent and embraces the need to take an active role in education in the local schools. She is also a successful business entrepreneur in her home-based business, NedaCake?!, along with helping her children run their own small business, Skippy Sweets, fostering an entrepreneurial spirit for them to raise money for their sports and college funds. Larnetia is involved in multiple community service organizations, helping exemplify the need to perform community service as a means to pay it forward. She doesn’t leave things to chance. She takes an active role in North Pole, by sitting on a number of city committees. Her positive attitude influences those around her to be mature, responsible, and engaged citizens. Her desire to make North Pole a better community, even through the simplest of interactions, makes her a great fit for this recognition.

Pioneer of the Year

The Pioneer of the Year will be announced at the January 26 luncheon at Hotel North Pole at noon. No need to reserve, just order from Pagoda’s by 11:30 am and lunch will be delivered to the meeting.

Expressions in Glass worked with the Chamber to design the custom awards. The design, quality, and symbolism of North Pole was put into each special, commemorative award for each recipient.