Somerset County Chamber recognizes community movers and shakers

The Somerset County Chamber of Commerce highlighted and honored six individuals and a nonprofit for their achievements Wednesday evening at the Somerset Area School District Auditorium.

The chamber's annual recognition of those "who have gone above and beyond" was a success from the get-go, according to Executive Director Ron Aldom.

Meet the recipients and learn about their award, accomplishments and some of their thoughts.

Morgan Simmons

Award: Outstanding Person of the Year, awarded since 1963 by the chamber, recognizes a Somerset County resident for outstanding accomplishments outside of his or her vocation and for public service in a volunteer effort.

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His life so far: Morgan Simmons graduated from Somerset High School, after which he studiedmechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Morgan worked on boats, primarily as an engineer for the Sea Education Association based out of Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where he assisted with the design of the mechanical and electrical systems of two traditionally rigged brigantine sailing school vessels. As an operatingengineer, he also sailed these two vessels across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Morgan returned to Somerset County in 2014 where he began working at the Mary S. Biesecker Public Library to update its IT resources and revamp its entire 80-year-old historic facility to bring it up to modern standards. The library is entering its 110th year of operations and nearing the end of a five-year modernization effort.

Morgan has worked closely with two other local organizations, Somerset Inc. and Laurel Arts, to help plancollaborative community programming that has included outdoor music and movie events. He’svolunteering to plan a lighting upgrade and future solar installation at Laurel Arts and renovation of the old "Army Navy Store" along West Main Street at Somerset Inc.

In his free time he is working on refurbishing the bicycle-powered pontoon boat he once navigated down the Mississippi River.

Thoughts: "On behalf of the Biesecker library, I am grateful to receive this award that helps highlight the work we are doing in Somerset County to help libraries maintain and grow their role as a community center and information hub in the modern, digital era."

Derek Hillegass

Award: Somerset County Agriculture Award began in 2010 recognizing a grower, farmer or producer who has played a significant role in branding and promoting Somerset County agriculture and products in the region and beyond.

His life so far: Hillegass is a partner in Dividing Ridge Farm in Berlin. The Dividing Ridge team milks 750 cows and farms 950 acres, most of which are triticale and corn. For the past 14 years, the farm has forgone tillage and planted cover crops every fall to improve the environment and soil. Since 2019, Dividing Ridge Farm has hosted Feed the Cow Day so the public may experience a modern dairy farm and learn where food originates.

Thoughts: "Receiving this award is an acknowledgement that Feed the Cow Day has been successful in educating the public about dairy. This award allows those of us in agriculture to demonstrate all the social, economic and environmental benefits we bring to the community."

Alyce Palko

Award: Harold W. Wheeler Jr. Memorial Humanitarian Award began in 2010 recognizing an individual, business or organization for their humanitarian efforts in helping someone in need.

Her life so far: Palko is a volunteer member of the Cambria-Somerset COVID-19 Task Force. The 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health formed the task force in February 2021 to coordinate COVID-19 vaccinations and education across Cambria and Somerset counties. As a volunteer with Highlands Health’s at-home COVID-19 vaccination program, Palko conducts patient education, navigation and scheduling.

In Somerset County, Palko has attended more than 200 home vaccination visits with her mother, Gail, a certified registered nurse practitioner.

Palko is also the executive committee chairwoman of Somerset County Community Organizations Active in Disasters, a humanitarian association of independent volunteer community organizations that may be active in response and relief efforts during times of disaster.

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A student in the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health’s Master of Public Health program, Palko's concentration is behavioral and community health sciences with a health equity certificate. Prior to beginning the master's program, Palko wrote for the Jewish Healthcare Foundation of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Pitt Med Magazine. She also runs her own freelance editing business.

Thoughts: "I am honored to receive this recognition. This award will motivate me to continue my community service and to seek new collaborations and service opportunities in the future. Being a humanitarian means practicing empathy and de-centering yourself, for the purpose of promoting others’ welfare. I strive to understand others’ experiences to learn how I can best apply my own skills, in pursuit of serving the community."

Madalyn Walker

Award: Entrepreneur of the Year Award, started in 2017 and recognizing an entrepreneur who has launched a consumer-focused business in Somerset County.

Her life so far: Walker is the owner of Mindful, Body, and Wellness. She is a certified reflexologist through the International Institute of Reflexology and a halotherapist through the Salt Therapy Association. She started her Reflexology classes in 2013 and became certified in September 2014. She began her business by offering a few services, growing it to a wellness center with state-of-the-art services for Somerset County.

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In 2020, Walker and her husband bought a building to add additional services and to allow for future growth. Her priority is to make her clients feel relaxed and help them feel better physically. Since starting reflexology, Walker has added six more biohacking services. She takes great pride in keeping up with continuing education.

Thoughts: "I felt like starting my business after I went to my first reflexology class, which was in 2013. This award provides me with an additional platform to reach more people in the community who may not know about my services. Personally I feel very grateful, this justifies years of hard work and making my dreams come true! And to really thank my clients! This couldn’t be done without them."

Rebecca Mull

Award: Somerset County Young Gun Award, started in 2017 and recognizing an individual under the age of 40 who has made a significant impact in her profession while making an equal impact on the community and nonprofits in Somerset County through volunteer time and leadership skills.

Her life so far: Mull is the community program educator at UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Twin Lakeswhere she oversees the prevention and education department. She is also the director of the Somerset County Drug-Free Communities. She has held the dual role for more than five years.The prevention and education department focuses on substance-abuse prevention through programsand initiatives focusing on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. It provides evidence-based programs in all Somerset County school districts from pre-K through the senior high educating on substances, but alsoon important skills like communication, refusal and self-esteem. She coordinates different grants to support theprevention programs. The behavioral health program also promotes and supports national campaigns surrounding substance abuse prevention.

As DUI coordinator for Somerset County, Mull helps organize the county’s DUI program though the PA DUI Association. The program completes Court Reporting Network evaluations, Alcohol Highway Safety School and Victim Impact Panel classes.

Thoughts: "This recognition means everything to me. I’m humbled and honored to be recognized. I love the work that I do and to see its impact in the community is important. This is not just the community I work in, but also where I live and raise my family. I’m so grateful for this award and what it represents."

She thinks of the category Young Guns as individuals who are "assertive, confident and efficient in what they do. I’m proud to be considered a ‘young gun’ in Somerset County as I strive to be all those things in the work I do each day."

Lisa Phillips

Award: Workforce Education Star, offered since 2017, is presented to an educator or business representative who has made a significant impact on connecting students to career opportunities while also making an impact on providing skilled workers to local businesses.

Her life so far: Phillips is the director of community services for the local community action agency, Tableland Services, Inc., where she dedicates her leadership to cultivating a healthy and compassionate community by inspiring individuals to achieve extraordinary things.

Over the past 16 years, Phillips has provided directorial oversight to a diverse array of community-based grant funded programs.

Phillips is the lead grant writer at her office and engages partnerships and community-needs assessment data to develop community programs that have proved successful in connecting students to career opportunities and greatly impacted the business community. Additionally, she has designed programs to assist the hardest to employ with services that are sensitive to those with significant barriers to employment.

She serves on the One Stop Operator for the Southern Alleghenies Workforce Development Region and is thecoordinator of professional development regional training for the six-county workforce region’s PA Careerlinkteams.

In 2015, Phillips was recognized by the PA Community Action network for her exceptional advocacy andleadership efforts on behalf of anti-poverty and community development programs. The Outstanding AdvocacyAward acknowledges efforts that directly impact policy, regulation or legislative agendas that complementCommunity Action’s mission and goals.

Thoughts: "Successful programs are built upon a philosophy of collaboration and partnering. As a community leader, I see the value in well developed partnerships with local employers, the education community and with the local network of community-based organizations. Through these relationships, we are recognized as a leader in our dedication and commitment to serving the needs of our residents. Our success in business services and workforce education has led way to deeper partnerships that engage Tableland and our business community partners into strategic conversations to best anticipate industry trends and identify gaps in local workforce skills in order that we are at the forefront of innovative programming. Together, our partnerships make a difference in our community.

"The past 16 years are packed full of tremendous achievements that will always hold a special place in my heart. ... Each achievement is one that involves many people working together. Receiving this award certainly tops the list.  It is an honor to be named the Workforce Education Star and I am deeply humbled to accept this award."

Somerset Lake Action Committee

Award: The committee was awarded the Betty Haupt Memorial Tourism Award that recognized the group for its "significant effort to further tourism in Somerset County."

Background: Somerset for Somerset Lake Action Committee was formed in 2014 as a subcommittee of The Somerset County Conservancy. The goal of the committee was to facilitate public support for the lake so that Somerset Lake was given a high priority when funding became available to rebuild the failing dam. When that was accomplished, the committee's priority adapted to spearhead a greater recreational opportunity at Somerset Lake by the creation of a county park. Currently the committee is composed of 23 members and meets monthly.

Others recognized

The chamber give a thumbs up to the following:

• Ron Bruner, who provided the photography for the evening event.

• The Rockwood Area School District, Joe Kush and the Life Skills Class of 2023, who designed, created and produced the award plaques presented to the winners.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: 'Gone above and beyond: "Chamber recognizes community achievers