The Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce has announced the following individuals as finalists for its Grinch Contest:
Ark of Freedom – Rebecca Wyant
Wyant is founder and president of The of Ark of Freedom. Her passion is helping others find hope, healing and freedom from addiction. She pours her heart into coordinating and leading life recovery meetings, fellowship events, and fundraising activities.
Recently, she’s been working diligently alongside other dedicated volunteers and the community to expand the ark’s services by opening Maryville’s first sober living house to provide a safe, supportive residence for those in recovery. She is helping others beat the horror of addiction and inspiring others struggling to realize there is a way out to recovery.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nodaway County – Lynette Harbin
Harbin is the heart and soul of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nodaway County. She just celebrated her 13th anniversary with the organization. She puts so much of herself into the program to make it thrive. She truly prides herself in making successful matches within our community and seeing the potential in all those impacted by this amazing organization. It’s impossible to count the number of lives she’s touched and improved in our area.
Lettuce Dream – Brenda Wheeler
Wheeler’s commitment to empowering individuals with disabilities and her impact on our community are nothing short of extraordinary. Every day, she brings her passion for integrated employment practices to the forefront, creating diverse job opportunities that cater to a wide range of individuals. Her innate ability to connect with people, combined with her determination, has led to commendable outcomes. Through her efforts, numerous individuals have not only secured employment but also maintained it successfully. Additionally, local businesses have discovered hidden talent they can consistently rely on. She is a true advocate for what is right and inspires those around her to take action and create a brighter future for all.
Nodaway County Senior Center – Ben Lipiec
Lipiec is always willing to help the senior center. He delivers meals at least once per week and is available for last minute fill-in if needed. He also volunteers to take middle school students with him when he drives and has been known to stop to get them lunch on their way back to school. He is observant of our seniors and reports back with any concerns. Every month we have a drawing for a dessert fundraiser, and he always donates money and says to put someone else’s name on it. He is an upbeat person, has a smile on his face, and lights up the room when he walks in. The seniors love speaking with him.
St Francis Foundation Cancer Care Committee – Teri Harr
For more than 32 years, Harr has served as a nurse for our local hospital and has touched many lives. In her final four years before retirement, she served as breast cancer liaison for local oncology patients. She spent countless hours ensuring they had the resources, appointments, facilities and support needed to fight their toughest battles. Now, as vice president of the St. Francis Foundation and chair of the foundation’s cancer care committee, she continues to advocate for local cancer patients. She oversaw fundraising for the Healing Garden and oncology parking area and now supports patients through fundraising for the Patient Assistance Program, which supports patients financially with transportation, prescription, medical equipment and nutrition assistance.
Grinch finalists represent local non-profit organizations. The community will vote for them by donating money in containers placed at Walmart. Each dollar collected is one vote. The nominee with the most votes, that is money collected, will be named the Grinch of Maryville. The non-profit organization the Grinch represents will receive all of the money collected during the voting process.
Voting begins November 1 and ends at noon on November 17. The Grinch will be announced and make a public debut as Grand Marshal of the Christmas parade.
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