Left to Right: First Citizen finalists Kyle Bunch, Ericka Katz Consilio, Katie Green, and Dianne and Jake McMichael.
January 17, 2020: The Rotary Club of Wilsonville, Oregon (USA) has announced the finalists for the 2019 Wilsonville First Citizen award, the premier volunteer service award given each year to an individual or couple who lives, works and/or volunteers in Wilsonville. Each finalist was selected based on their active engagement in the Wilsonville community which improves the lives and well-being of its residents. This year’s finalists for the prestigious award are:
- Kyle Bunch: active in volunteer positions serving Wilsonville such as the Rotary Club, Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce, Wilsonville Youth Sports, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, and the City of Wilsonville.
- Ericka Katz Consilio: engaged volunteer across many areas positively impacting youth including Wilsonville Touchdown Club, Boy Scout Troop 194, Wilsonville Youth Football, Wilsonville High School Grad Night 2020, Boones Ferry Elementary and Wood Middle School PTA.
- Katie Green: an energetic community volunteer who led the Villebois fire fundraisers, founded Wilsonville Brewfest, raising funds for a variety of causes, while bringing others in to serve as well, and other efforts such as Relay for Life and local PTA organizations.
- Jake and Dianne McMichael: long-time committed volunteers in Wilsonville, including Rotary Club projects such as the international student exchange program and programs serving African children, Boys and Girls Aid Society, Partners in Learning tutoring program and others.
Pat Wolfram serves as president of the Rotary Club of Wilsonville and chair of the First Citizen Committee for the 2019–20 year. “As Rotarians, we are proud to be part of a community that shows such willingness to help one another through exemplary volunteerism,” he said. “We know the level of commitment needed when volunteers are giving so much of their time and talents to Wilsonville. Each of our finalists has brought creative and valuable contributions to our city, and has made Wilsonville a better place for all residents.”
The First Citizen finalists will be honored, and a winner announced, at 2020 Vision for Service: Heart of Gold 2020 Dinner and Auction. The event will be held starting at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 29 at the Wilsonville Holiday Inn. This will be the 19th annual Heart of Gold celebration, which was started in 2002 to honor Wilsonville’s community leaders who enrich the lives of all local residents. It is also the Rotary Club’s largest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds from the event support numerous Wilsonville Rotary Foundation projects, including: local omelet breakfasts to raise funds for schools; the Wilsonville Chess Clubs to help students learn problem-solving skills; Through A Child’s Eyes, a partnership with Coffee Creek Correctional Facility that strengthens families and helps female inmates make important connections with their children before and after release; the free Wilsonville Rotary Summer Concerts for residents and fund raiser for End Polio Now; college scholarships for Arts & Tech and Wilsonville high school graduates; the international student exchange program; and several other international projects aiding communities.
The four finalists will be introduced individually at the Heart of Gold event, which also includes a silent auction and an exciting live auction of larger value items. At the end of the evening, the First Citizen honor will be awarded to the chosen individual or couple.
Kyle Bunch is known as a committed volunteer across many areas of the Wilsonville community. Kyle is energetic and “shows up for everything,” according to the person who nominated him. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce since 2016 and was the chair in 2017-2018. He is also on the Chamber’s workforce scholarship and golf committees. Kyle is a head coach for Wilsonville Youth Softball and has held many positions with the Rotary Club, including president. At Coffee Creek, Kyle participated in, and is now co-chair of, Through a Child’s Eyes. He also serves on the prison advisory committee, and as leader for the Prison Fellowship Academy. At Grace Chapel, he is the young adults coordinator and a men’s group leader. For the City of Wilsonville, Kyle was a participant in the Citizens Academy, and serves on the Town Center Redevelopment Task Force.
Katie Green is involved in many charitable giving projects that unite the community around important causes. This includes heading up the relief fund for those residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the 2019 fire in the Villebois community. She has also spearheaded the Wilsonville Brewfest which raises funds for community causes; and volunteers for all the community events in Villebois, frequently heading them up to make the Wilsonville community a better place. Additionally, Katie was 2019 public relations chair for the Relay for Life event in Wilsonville; and is a member of the Wilsonville Rotary. She has served on the Boones Ferry PTA, Wood PTA and was one of the founding members of the Lowrie PTA. Her nominator said, “I don’t know anyone else who gives more of herself to this community all while taking care of her mom and family.”
Ericka Katz Consilio has been an active member of the Wilsonville community for more than 15 years. Through her engagement in fundraising events, she has helped raise over $500,000 for local community programs. Ericka is always willing to donate her time, energy and talents to ensure every organization she’s a part of grows and succeeds. Her love and commitment to Wilsonville started many years ago, with her roles to support Boones Ferry Primary, where she co-created the Boones Ferry Bi-Annual Auction, raising over $250,000 over the next nine years. Besides being active in leading projects with the Boy Scouts, she has been involved in youth sports programs for many years, including as Team Mom Lead and Fundraising Coordinator for Wilsonville Youth Football, and the board of Wilsonville Little League as the event and merchandise coordinator. In recent years, her focus has been on fundraising for Wilsonville Touchdown Club, concentrating on gear and safety, and raising more than $115,000 for the program. Her nominator said, “We are so lucky to have Ericka in our community and I would love to see her recognized for all of her years of giving.”
Jake and Dianne McMichael have committed themselves to helping others in the Wilsonville community and around the world. Dianne has been with the Cypress Branch Auxiliary of the Boys and Girls Aid Society for 18 years, and Partners in Learning (PAL) tutoring program with West-Linn Wilsonville School District for 15 years, involved in programs such as tutoring at Boone’s Ferry Primary School. Jake has been a very active member of Rotary for almost 20 years and has provided outstanding service to the community. He is the only member to have served twice as club president and more recently has been instrumental in the re-establishment of the Rotary Youth Exchange. Since the project was resumed, several students have visited Wilsonville from abroad on short- and long-term exchanges, and several Wilsonville students have been sent abroad to countries from as far away as Russia, South Korea, and Brazil. He also spearheaded a project to provide school desks for 600 Kenyan students at six low-income schools. Jake and Dianne are also longtime volunteers with the club’s Through A Child’s Eyes program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, providing books and managing the ”Story Book Corner”. Jake also stepped forward recently to help another Wilsonville resident without family support to get through a major medical event, including helping with medical care, housing and other needs. He has also been active in other service organizations since moving to Wilsonville 21 years ago, and is a Distinguished Fellow at the Portland Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Jake’s nominator said, “Jake is an exemplary Rotarian with a service-first outlook who never looks for this kind of recognition but is highly deserving of the honor.”
Heart of Gold information: Several hundred attendees come together each year for the Heart of Gold event. Tickets to the gala awards dinner and auction are $60 each or $480 for a table of eight. Tickets are available online at www.wilsonvilleheart.com and sell out each year. More information on the Wilsonville Rotary Club can be found at wilsonvillerotary.com.