Jerry Moore, retired Salem police chief, will be among the honorees at the Salem First Citizen Awards banquet for 2022 (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
Salem’s former police chief, local philanthropists and a retired school principal are among the Salem citizens who will be honored at this year’s First Citizen Awards Banquet.
The annual event, put on by the Salem Chamber of Commerce, recognizes “distinguished members of our community who go above and beyond to make Salem a better place to work, live and visit,” according to an event description. It will be held Saturday, April 16 at the Salem Convention Center, with a social hour at 6 p.m. and awards presentation at 7 p.m.
Local philanthropists Gary Epping and Shawn Epping Engelberg will be honored as Salem’s First Citizen at the 71st annual ceremony, according to Tom Hoffert, Salem Chamber CEO.
They join the ranks of Salem notables like former Sen. Jackie Winters, historic preservationist Hazel Patton and Paul J. De Muniz, former Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice, who have received the honor in recent years.
Three Salemites will be recognized with a distinguished service award in 2022. They are retired Salem police Chief Jerry Moore; Myron Jones, director of the men’s mission for Union Gospel Mission, and Mary Jean Sandall, a retired Salem-Keizer principal and nonprofit board leader.
Richard Schultz, of Cherry City Metals will be recognized as this year’s Outstanding Young Professional.
More information about tickets, sponsors and the history of the awards is available on the First Citizen webpage.
Correction: This article was updated to correct the spelling of Shawn Epping Engelberg’s name and Richard Schultz’s title. Salem Reporter apologizes for the errors.
-Rachel Alexander
