Left: Future First Citizen winner, Evan Wu. Evan received a $500 scholarship to whatever college he will choose to attend. Evan is an A-student, an excellent pianist and volunteers at local soup kitchens on weekends! Right: Patron of the Arts Winner, Shirley Wirth. Shirley is an artist, teacher, and volunteer at the Corvallis Arts Center.

Left: Junior First Citizen Winner, Michelle Davis. Michelle is a tireless volunteer, even journeying to Ethiopia this past year! Not only that, but she was instrumental in organizing the Celebrate Corvallis Event. Right: Entrepreneur of the Year Winners, Chris Vitello and Paul Nash. Chris and Paul began Ecnow Tech about a year ago – their revolutionary company makes sustainable products that can be composted rather than thrown away.

Left: Robert C. Ingalls Business Person of the Year winner, Nancy Kneisel. Nancy’s the owner of Second Glance and the new Annex – the best consignment stores in town! Right: Senior First Citizen winner, Dr. Ken Johnson. Ken was the Junior First Citizen in 1970, so that tells you how long he’s been contributing to our community. He has provided dental services to low-income children locally and worldwide.

The most prestigious award for Celebrate Corvallis is the First Citizen Award, this year awarded to David Gilbert. David grew up in Corvallis and was taught by his parents at an early age to give back to the community, even helping at Assistance League fundraisers as a child. He is now the development director for Cornerstone Associates, and was at the head of the campaign to build the new Community Outreach Inc. building on Reiman.

The other winners include Fitzpatrick Painting, Inc. (Business of the Year), Metzger Green Build (Good Steward of the Planet), and Love INC of Benton County (Community Organization/Non-profit of the Year). A special, posthumous award was given to Patricia Mulder, for her work as former president of the Chamber.

Events like these make us proud to live and work in Corvallis!

Every year we make a donation to the Winter’s Eve Auction, which is a benefit put on by the Assistance League of Corvallis. This wonderful event raises money for many of the Assistance League’s philanthropies, including Operation School Bell. We also include a gift certificate in the ticket-books, which is how we met the Miller family: Rick, Judy, and their daughters Kristy and Becky; their son Travis, his wife Linda, and their son Lucian.

It was fun to help document the growth of their family. Rick and Judy’s first grandchild, Lucian, will soon be joined by a new sibling!

Travis with his sisters, Kristy and Becky.

From left to right: Rocky, Chilko, Heart, and Rogue. These Belgian Sheep dogs belong to Dave Vesely and Joan Hagar. Last summer, Rogue and Chilko worked with a professor at OSU, detecting the habitats of several rare species, including the Orange Crowned Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush, the Western Pond Turtle, and Kincaid’s Lupin (a flower that attracts a rare blue butterfly). Rocky is a champion in Agility – he ranks 4th in the country! Heart is quickly catching up to Rocky’s success in agility.

Above, Debbie and her pit bull, Dakota. Dakota is 10 years old, but still has the energy of a puppy. She was so friendly!

Meet Pam, and her dogs Mully and Duke! These dogs have had some struggles in life and Pam’s commitment to their happiness shows through in their close bond.

We wanted to capture the beauty of Pony and Mary, adopted greyhounds owned by Keith and Vickie Taylor, with the simplicity of a similar-toned setting. Pony is a retired racedog. They were both very gentle, and a pleasure to photograph.

We’ll keep you updated with more of our pet portraits! Visit us again soon to see how our shoot with two very cool lizards went!

Oregon State recently placed 8th out of 54 at the Midland Championships. Go Beavs! Check out our exhibit at Timberhill Athletic Club to see more of our OSU family portraits.