Wilsonville, Oregon — Knowing that you served others in the community is the sweetest feeling. That’s why "The Sweet Life of Service" will be the theme of the 2026 Heart of Gold Gala and Auction, produced by the Rotary Club of Wilsonville. The club will announce the next Wilsonville First Citizen at the event, and is now accepting nominations, which may be submitted online at WilsonvilleRotary.com/nominate. The deadline has been extended to Sunday, February 8, 2026.
The award honors a local community member or couple for their exceptional volunteer service to the local community. A committee made up of Rotary members and other Wilsonville community leaders — including past First Citizens — will review the nominations received. They will then select a small group of First Citizen finalists, who will be announced in February. Out of these finalists, the individual or couple that is selected as the 2025 Wilsonville First Citizen will be announced at the Heart of Gold on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Oregon Golf Club.
“When people talk about living the sweet life, it means more when they look beyond themselves,” Rotary Club of Wilsonville President Josh Dalglish said. “The act of community service brings people together and improves things for everyone. This is why Rotary believes in the motto of 'Service Above Self,' and looks for examples in the community that we can recognize and honor with the First Citizen award.”
Since 2002, the local club has presented the First Citizen award to 30 outstanding community volunteers, either individually or as part of a couple. All of these past honorees can be found at WilsonvilleRotary.com/first-citizens. Dalglish encouraged Wilsonville residents to nominate someone special who deserves greater recognition for their essential contributions. “Our community volunteers provide much-needed energy and leadership,” Dalglish said. “The sweetest people are those who give of themselves, and we need the community’s input to find them. The winners make the award. Just look at the Wilsonville community members who have been nominated and honored over the last 20-plus years.”
Besides honoring Wilsonville’s First Citizen, the Heart of Gold Dinner and Auction 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 funds for all of 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 provide high quality family entertainment. Through these concerts, the Rotary Club of Wilsonville has consistently been one of the top fundraising clubs in the area for End Polio Now, the international effort to eradicate polio.
- 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 from Wilsonville, in partnership with the Wilsonville Public Library. Wilsonville Rotary is paying so that children of adults in custody at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility can also participate, regardless of address.
- 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.
- Interact Clubs — The Rotary Club of Wilsonville sponsors the Wilsonville High School Interact Club, which is a youth service club, and co-sponsors the Riverside High School Interact Club along with the Rotary Club of West Linn.
- Peacebuilding — The Rotary Club of Wilsonville is an official Peacebuilder Club and has installed three Peace Poles in the community — Wilsonville City Hall, Town Center Park, and Wilsonville High School — with more to come.
The club also supports international service projects conducted throughout the world by the Wilsonville club and other area clubs, and responds to needs as they arise.
At the last Heart of Gold Dinner and Auction in April 2025, Lyn Whelchel accepted the 2024 Wilsonville First Citizen Award. Lyn serves as the only director in the history of Heart of the City, which was founded by Grace Chapel to provide marginalized populations with needed resources, including food, personal items, clothing, counseling, recovery services, financial assistance and more. She stepped up to assist victims of the Oregon wildfires in 2000. She has served as a foster and adoptive parent and teaches classes for prospective foster and adoptive parents, helping others navigate their journey and ensuring future generations are raised in nurturing and supportive environments.
Prior winners include Brad Hansen, Tammy Sue Bradley, Lisa Krecklow, Elaine Swyt, Jake and Dianne McMichael, John Budiao, Jordan Scoggins, Tim Knapp, Sherine and 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. You’ll find details on each at WilsonvilleRotary.com/first-citizens
To nominate a community member (or couple) who is an exceptional volunteer go to www.wilsonvillerotary.com/nominate. Questions? Send an email to president@wilsonvillerotary.com.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.4 million members of more than 46,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org.
About the Rotary Club of Wilsonville
The Rotary Club of Wilsonville was founded in 1975 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. The club carries out several signature service projects throughout the year, including the innovative Through A Child’s Eyes program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, the annual Wilsonville Rotary Summer Concerts, the signature Good Eggs omelet and pancake breakfasts throughout the year, the Wilsonville First Citizen awards program, a college scholarship program, an international Rotary Youth Exchange program, sponsorship of Interact clubs at Wilsonville High School and Riverside High School, and many other one-time projects and ongoing programs. The club meets weekly, Thursdays at 11:45 a.m. at Black Bear Diner, and has 40 members. For more information, visit WilsonvilleRotary.com.