The finalists will be recognized at the 2024 Heart of Gold Dinner & Auction on April 11
The Rotary Club of Wilsonville has selected four finalists for the 2023 Wilsonville First Citizen award. The finalists came from nominations submitted by the Wilsonville community. Nominations were reviewed by a committee of Rotarians, community leaders and past Wilsonville First Citizens.
In alphabetical order, they are Wilsonville High School football coach Adam Guenther, Oregon Business Resource Center volunteer Fatima Falcon Ontiveros, Rotary and Through A Child’s Eyes volunteer Brad Hansen, and Wilsonville High School, Booster Club, softball and wrestling volunteer Brad Holly.
The First Citizen award honors a local community member for their exceptional volunteer service to the local community. A committee made up of Rotary and other Wilsonville community leaders reviewed the nominations. Each of the finalists will be honored and the 2023 Wilsonville First Citizen will be announced at the club’s annual Heart of Gold Dinner and Auction to be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11, 2024 at Oregon Golf Club, 25700 S.W. Petes Mountain Rd, West Linn. This year’s theme is “Spotlight on Service,” a theme that plays off of the performing aerialists and acrobats, for Cirque du Soleil and other troupes, who amaze people through their strength, balance, grace and poise. Tickets to the event are available at WilsonvilleHeart.com.
“Wilsonville is defined by its volunteers who make a difference in the community,” said Gladys Boutwell, club president and chair of the First Citizen Award committee. “We have so many people who go above and beyond what’s required of them. One can’t help but be amazed. It’s going to be an honor to recognize all of them and announce Wilsonville’s next First Citizen on the night of the Heart of Gold Dinner & Auction.”
Adam Guenther — As coach of the Wilsonville High School Wildcats football team, which won the state championship in 2023, Adam devotes immense amounts of time to aiding the success of his players. This includes not just his coaching duties, but supervising weightlifting, holding dinners for the team after home games and breakfasts/practices on Saturday mornings to keep players on a healthy path, and time spent game planning and analyzing film. Guenther is noted for prioritizing character building, helping students with college prep and taking steps to help at-risk youth..
Fatima Falcon Ontiveros — Fatima is focused on making resources available to minority owned businesses. She serves on the Latino Business Alliance Board, a volunteer organization that helps Latino-owned businesses, and chaired Business Expo Negocio for three years. She also helps with the Oregon Business Resource Center in Wilsonville and is part of the team putting on a Small Business Summit. Additionally, she is program chair for Distinguished Young Women and serves as an essential life skills mentor. She volunteers at Cuidadania en Oregon, which helps eligible immigrants with their US citizenship application.
Brad Hansen — Brad Hansen has served as president of the Rotary Club of Wilsonville and has served as chairman of the Wilsonville Rotary Foundation on multiple occasions. He co-chairs the club’s Through A Child’s Eyes program, which helps adults in custody maintain strong family bonds and break the intergenerational cycle of incarceration. He has assisted several local organizations and leads a men’s Bible study for local business leaders. He runs the local office for Guild Mortgage, which donates to the Hands and Feet Project in Haiti, which assists and educates orphans and supports startup businesses.
Brad Holly — Brad Holly volunteers in numerous ways supporting Wilsonville High School athletics. He and his wife, Sam, created the Colton Holly Foundation and the Colton Holly Wrestling tournament in honor of their son, who died tragically in 2010. The tournament raises funds for college scholarships, fee and equipment scholarships for youth athletes, and other needs. They have volunteered for the WHS Boosters. Brad also volunteers for the wrestling and softball teams, serving as softball foundation director and tournament director to raise money for the team.
Besides honoring Wilsonville’s First Citizen, Heart of Gold event serves as the main fundraiser for the Wilsonville Rotary Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Money is raised through sponsorships, auction purchases, donations, raffle and game tickets, dinner tickets and other contributions that night. The Wilsonville Rotary Foundation, in turn, provides funding for the numerous service projects conducted or supported by the Rotary Club of Wilsonville, including:
- Wilsonville Rotary Summer Concerts — These FREE summer concerts in Town Center Park (www.wilsonvilleconcerts.com) provide high quality family entertainment to benefit polio eradication through voluntary donations to End Polio Now. This year’s shows will be July 18, July 25, August 1 and August 8.
- Through A Child’s Eyes (TACE) — A two-day annual event at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility to strengthen inmate families and break the negative intergenerational cycles that lead to incarceration.
- Good Eggs Omelet Breakfasts — Rotary partners with local schools and other organizations to create fundraising breakfasts and dinners with multiple revenue streams.
- Rotary Youth Exchange — These exchanges send local students abroad for short-term and long-term exchanges and host international students for the same in Wilsonville.
- Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library — This program provides free books monthly for young readers, in partnership with the Wilsonville Public Library. Rotary has expanded the program to include the children of adults in custody at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.
- College Scholarships — The club awards several scholarships to deserving high school graduates from Wilsonville to support their future education.
- Support of Scouting BSA — The club sponsors one Scout troop and two Cub Scout packs in Wilsonville.
- Peacebuilding — The Rotary Club of Wilsonville is an official Peacebuilder Club and has installed three Peace Poles in the community, with more to come.
The club also supports international service projects conducted throughout the world by the Wil-sonville club and other area clubs, and responds to certain needs as they arise. To purchase tickets to the event, community members can go to WilsonvilleHeart.com.
At last year’s Heart of Gold Celebration, Tammy Sue Bradley accepted the 2022 Wilsonville First Citizen award. Prior First Citizen award winners include Lisa Krecklow, Elaine Swyt, Jake and Dianne McMichael, John Budiao, Jordan Scoggins, Tim Knapp, Sherine Beltran, Jaimy Beltran, Donna Bane, Kathryn Whittaker, Jay Puppo, Dick Spence, Debi Laue, Lonnie and Julie Gieber, Theonie Gilmore, Anne Easterly, Ron Anderson, Bob and Judy Woodle, Alan Kirk, Doris Wehler, Sue Ludlow, John Ludlow, Charlotte Lehan and Dr. Laura LaJoie Bishop.Nominations are accepted on an ongoing basis at WilsonvilleRotary.com/nominate.