Louis E. and Mabel Crandall have been selected as the 1997 recipients of the Sen. Reed Smoot Outstanding Citizens of the Year Award. The award recognizes the efforts of Provo citizens. The Arthur V. Watkins Award recognizes Orem residents in the fall.
The Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce will honor the Cran-dalls and other community leaders at its annual award presentations, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8, in the Provo Park Hotel.The Crandalls have devoted their lives to serving their family and church and have used their time and talents to improve the lives of others in their community, especially youths. Louis Crandall is president and chairman of the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Utah County, and Mabel Crandall serves as the secretary. He is the founder and current producer of the annual Tabernacle Park "Story of Christmas Pageant," and she serves as a committee member and assistant director. They have been the driving force behind the club both financially and operationally for more than 22 years.
Louis Crandall also serves on the board of directors of the Utah National Parks Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Utah chapter of the National Football Foundation. He has served on the Utah County Planning Commission, the board of Utah Valley Economic Development Association, the board of trustees of the Stevens Henager Business College, as chairman of Provo's Freedom Festival Grand Parade and other related civic activities. He is president of Ad Counselors Advertising Agency, president of Crandall Travel and owner and curator of the Crandall Historical Printing Museum in Provo.
Mabel Crandall served for many years on the board of directors of the chamber's Women's Division. She has dedicated years of service to the Provo City Library and served as trustee for six years. She currently serves on the Friends of the Library Board.
The Chamber of Commerce will also honor the following individuals and businesses:
- Outstanding Business of the Year: Nature's Sunshine Products. The company started in the family kitchen of Gene, Kristine and Pauline Hughes 25 years ago. It is now operating in 16 countries and publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange. It has grown to approximately $250 million in annual revenues.
- Business Woman of the Year: Connie K. Nielsen. Nielsen is a consummate entrepreneur and began her first business by making scarves. She currently owns the Bridal Center, 235 N. University Ave. She has been involved in many community and civic programs and works with the Provo Business Alliance to promote business in the city.
- Business Man of the Year: Bill J. Pope. Pope is chairman and president of U.S. Synthetics, a producer of synthetic and sintered polycrystalline diamonds. He is founder, organizer and financier of Smith Megadiamond, U.S. Synthetic and Precorp Inc. He has donated significant funds to Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College.
- Outstanding Community Service: Elder L. Douglas Smoot. Elder Smoot, recently called to the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been a leading force in the B.Y. Academy Foundation's efforts to preserve the historic Education Building of the old BYU Academy and make it a modern, high-tech public library. He is dean emeritus of the College of Engineering and Technology, professor of chemical engineering and director of Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center at BYU.
- Outstanding Chamber Service: Dave Perry. Perry is responsible for delivering the chamber's Friday Facts and has set up fax broadcasts, fax-on-demand systems and other fax and Internet technologies for the chamber and other companies. He has founded seven successful businesses.
- Outstanding Contribution to Cultural Arts: Kurt Bestor. Bestor is a composer, arranger and performer. He is well known for his concerts that include songs from his 10 nationally released albums. He has composed more than 30 film scores, developed television themes for more than 15 shows and is a recipient of television's prestigious Emmy Award.
- Outstanding Lifetime Service: Verl Dixon, who has served four years as Utah County clerk, eight years as county commissioner and 12 years as the mayor of Provo. He has served as president of the Utah League of Cities and Towns and the Utah Association of Counties. He is past president of the National Society of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers and has taken a special interest in the Pioneer Village at North Park. He also serves as a docent at the BYU Museum of Art.
- Educator of the Year: Terry E. Shoemaker. Shoemaker has been an educator since 1979. He is principal of Rock Canyon Elementary School and has centered his efforts around building technology systems for the future. Rock Canyon was one of the first elementary schools in the state to establish a computer network for both wide and local area use.
- Student of the Year: Bethany Durham. A senior at Timpview High School, Durham has maintained a 4.0 grade point average while taking six AP classes. She completed a summer internship in the office of former Rep. Bill Orton and was co-editor of the school newspaper. She is a member of the National Honor Society and is a Utah delegate to the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge Youth Leadership Convention. She is a member of Timpview's Symphonic Band and performs in the choir.
- Athlete of the Year: Jesse B. Clark, who has competed in a starting position in a major high school sport throughout the school year while maintaining a 3.6 grade point average. He is captain of the Provo High golf team and is a 4A state golf medalist. He was point
guard on the state 4A championship basketball team, and was starting second baseman on the school's baseball team.
Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased at the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce at 51 S. University Ave., Suite 215, by Tuesday, May 6. For more information, call the chamber at 379-2555.