ORDER OF EVENTS

6:00 PM Reception

6:45 PM Seating Begins

7:30 PM Awards Program

  • Sponsor Recognition
  • Chamber Officers
  • Milestone Awards
  • Blue Sage
  • Awards
    • Sue Westenskow
    • Young Professional
    • Chairperson
    • Volunteer
    • Wall of Fame
  • North Front Sound
  • Awards
    • Startup
    • Nonprofit
    • Small Business
    • Large Business

Learn more about our sponsors by tapping each ad

PRESENTING SPONSOR

RECEPTION SPONSOR

ENTERTAINMENT SPONSOR

PROGRAM SPONSORS

SUE WESTENSKOW

Sue Westenskow Award Sponsors

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Young Professional of the Year

Devon Jennings is a passionate leader committed to elevating the Northern Utah community. As the Talent Marketing Manager at MarketStar, he leads an international team focused on recruitment marketing and employer brand initiatives, drawing on five years of growth and leadership within the organization. He is a graduate of MarketStar’s Ascend leadership development program and serves on the company’s Women in Business committee, where he helps support professional growth and connection across the organization. A proud Weber State University alumnus, Devon earned his BA in Communication with an emphasis in PR & Advertising and a minor in Commercial Spanish before completing his MBA at Western Governors University. During his time at Weber State, he founded The Destruction, the student section club that energized athletic events, and was selected as a Presidential Leadership Fellow, working closely with university leadership. Devon’s involvement with the Ogden-Weber Chamber began by attending Business After Hours events, which quickly sparked deeper engagement. He graduated from the 2025 Leadership Northern Utah program and now serves as an LNU Co‑Chair on the Chamber’s Executive Board, helping to strengthen leadership development across the region. Born and raised in Weber County and now living in Roy, he is dedicated to giving back to the community that shaped him. Outside of his professional life, Devon is a passionate runner who has completed the Ogden Marathon five times, and he stays active in Northern Utah’s rock climbing and backcountry skiing communities. But most of all he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. Devon is honored to be a finalist for Young Professional of the Year.

Meghan Kelly is the Director and a founding leader of Utah Neighborhood Connection, a nonprofit serving Ogden, Utah. In 2020, she returned from international work in Australia to help launch UNC as a pandemic response. Meghan has a deep love for Ogden and credits the generosity and collaboration of the local community as UNC’s greatest strength. She lives in Ogden with her husband, Graham, their poodle Dolly, and is excited to welcome their first child this spring.

Zoe has worked with Utah’s Own Pink Drink since 2022, where she quickly advanced into a management role under the direction of the ownership team. She later accepted an additional position with owners Jill and Mac McCullough as Events Manager for Sunnyside Party Rentals, further expanding her leadership and organizational experience. Zoe excels at welcoming new team members and training staff to uphold the quality, consistency, and commitment to the brands she proudly represents. She is currently a Senior at Box Elder High School and on the honor roll, Zoe plans to continue building her career in Sales and Marketing by attending university this fall. Outside of work, Zoe enjoys spending time with friends, traveling, and snowboarding. She has especially valued growing her professional network through the connections she has made with the Ogden–Weber Chamber of Commerce and the opportunities that involvement has provided.

Young Professional of the Year Sponsor

Volunteer of the Year

Driven by a passion for people and experiences, Amy Moss has built a career that bridges financial expertise and hospitality. An Ogden native, she currently serves as a Relationship Manager at Merrill Lynch, supporting clients and advisors with personalized care. Her 25+ years in travel and tourism sharpened her skills in leadership, training, and customer experience. Outside of work, Amy loves volunteering, exploring the outdoors, traveling, and tackling creative home projects.

Jared Stevens is honored to be recognized as a finalist for Volunteer of the Year for 2025 at the Ogden Weber Chamber of Commerce Gala. Jared has served in the Chamber as chair with two Contacts groups, served with the small business council, and serves on the board of and is a very active Spiker Ambassador. Jared also serves in local committees and non profit positions with his love of Ogden’s people and the ongoing building of a strong, healthy, and thriving community. He believes businesses thrive with education, organization, and understanding, and teaches free classes monthly to small business owners to help alleviate misconceptions and fears about starting and running the financial side their organization. Jared is deeply passionate about helping individuals and business owners achieve success, confidence, and resilience in their professional and personal lives.

Wendy Spradley has spent more than 14 years serving individuals and families within the senior healthcare industry, guided by a deep belief that people thrive when they feel seen, heard, and cared for. She currently works with Brighten Life Home Health and is the owner of Advanced Homecare Assistance, a company dedicated to providing meaningful, non-clinical check-in calls for seniors, homebound individuals, and anyone seeking more connection and reassurance in their daily lives.

At the heart of Wendy’s work is a genuine love for people. Family, friends, neighbors, and community members know her as someone who shows up without judgment, prejudice, or bias. She is often found quietly offering a helping hand, a thoughtful word, or simply listening, creating space for others to feel valued and understood. Her approach to care and connection is rooted in compassion, dignity, and respect, qualities that have shaped both her professional path and her personal mission.

Beyond her professional roles, Wendy is deeply involved in community service and charitable initiatives. Since 2014 she has been involved with Round to Honor, a golf tournament that raises funds to send Veterans to Washington, D.C., allowing them to visit memorials dedicated to their service and to experience firsthand the gratitude of a nation. Her commitment to honoring others also extends to her long-standing support of the Alzheimer’s Association. Since 2015, Wendy has organized a creative and engaging lip sync fundraising event, Syncing For A Cause, blending fun, community participation, and purpose to support Alzheimer’s awareness and research. It’s near to her heart because her grandmother passed from Alzheimer’s as well as many people she’s worked with and has loved through the years.

Wendy is also the creator of “Christmas on the Lawn,” a heartfelt initiative she began with her young family to provide free gifts and essential items to individuals and families who may be facing financial hardship during the holidays. What started as a quiet, behind-the-scenes act of kindness has grown steadily over the years. In 2025, Christmas on the Lawn celebrated its 20th year, marking a meaningful milestone. While Wendy carried this tradition privately for many years, the past three years have included friends and community members, transforming the event into a shared experience of generosity, connection, and joy. It has grown into something truly beautiful, reflecting the power of community coming together with open hearts.

Through her professional work and volunteer efforts alike, Wendy Spradley continues to be driven by one simple belief: that caring for people, loving well, and creating moments of connection can change lives, one conversation and one act of kindness at a time.

Volunteer of the Year Sponsor

Devon Jennings is a passionate leader committed to elevating the Northern Utah community. As the Talent Marketing Manager at MarketStar, he leads an international team focused on recruitment marketing and employer brand initiatives, drawing on five years of growth and leadership within the organization. He is a graduate of MarketStar’s Ascend leadership development program and serves on the company’s Women in Business committee, where he helps support professional growth and connection across the organization. A proud Weber State University alumnus, Devon earned his BA in Communication with an emphasis in PR & Advertising and a minor in Commercial Spanish before completing his MBA at Western Governors University. During his time at Weber State, he founded The Destruction, the student section club that energized athletic events, and was selected as a Presidential Leadership Fellow, working closely with university leadership. Devon’s involvement with the Ogden-Weber Chamber began by attending Business After Hours events, which quickly sparked deeper engagement. He graduated from the 2025 Leadership Northern Utah program and now serves as an LNU Co‑Chair on the Chamber’s Executive Board, helping to strengthen leadership development across the region. Born and raised in Weber County and now living in Roy, he is dedicated to giving back to the community that shaped him. Outside of his professional life, Devon is a passionate runner who has completed the Ogden Marathon five times, and he stays active in Northern Utah’s rock climbing and backcountry skiing communities. But most of all he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. Devon is honored to be a finalist for Young Professional of the Year.

Chairperson of the Year

Caren Werner brings people together through her work in community partnerships and inclusive leadership. She was born and raised in Utah and has also lived in Oregon and Texas, which sparked her love of travel and new places. She has spent 15 years with Visit Ogden supporting local businesses and the tourism community. Caren previously served as Chair of Women in Business. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors and being a grandmother to 10 grandchildren.

Chance Hadley is a dedicated mortgage professional, leader, and community advocate who has spent over five years with Guild Mortgage, where he currently serves as a Sales Manager after being promoted earlier this year. Throughout his career as a loan officer, Chance has built a reputation for integrity, consistency, and a people-first approach—values that have guided both his professional growth and his leadership style. Chance has been an active member of the Ogden Weber Chamber of Commerce for more than five years and is deeply grateful for the relationships and opportunities it has provided. In 2025, he proudly served as Chairperson of the Contacts 1 Committee, an experience he found especially meaningful as a way to give back to a community that supported him from the very beginning of his career. Outside of work, Chance’s greatest joy is his family. He and his wife, Monica—a nurse—have been married since June of 2019 after meeting in 2018 through coworkers at the Layton Hills Mall. Together, they are raising their two daughters, Olivia (2½) and Ella (1), who keep life joyful, busy, and full of perspective. When he’s not working, Chance can usually be found spending time with his girls, firing up the grill, enjoying the outdoors, or squeezing in a workout at the gym. Grounded in family, driven by service, and grateful for community, Chance is honored to be nominated and remains committed to leading, serving, and growing alongside the people who have shaped his journey.

Jon Miller works with local businesses to help them make smarter, more strategic decisions about their vehicles and operations. He is actively involved with the Chamber of Commerce and values the relationships, collaboration, and sense of community it creates. Outside of work, Jon is grateful for his amazing wife and four fantastic kids, who are somehow aging faster than he is.

Chairperson of the Year Sponsors

WALL OF FAME

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Goldenwest Credit Union, Kerry H. Wahlen has led with a deep commitment to the Weber County community that shaped his life and career.

Since becoming CEO in 2012, Kerry has guided Goldenwest’s transformation into a $4 billion financial institution serving 210,000 members across Utah and Idaho. Throughout this growth, he has remained steadfast in honoring the credit union’s local roots. When planning Goldenwest’s new corporate center, Kerry made it a priority to keep the headquarters in Weber County, just a few miles from the organization’s founding location at Union Station. That decision reflected his personal dedication to ensuring that jobs, investment, and leadership remain anchored in the community he proudly calls home.

A respected and trusted leader, Kerry has cultivated strong, lasting relationships with business owners, elected officials, educators, and nonprofit leaders throughout Weber County. He recognizes that thriving financial institutions and successful local businesses are deeply interconnected, and he has consistently worked to foster partnerships and opportunities that strengthen both.

Kerry actively contributes his time and leadership expertise through service on several boards, including the Weber State Amplify Steering Committee, Utah State University Foundation, Utah-Idaho Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Weber School Foundation, InterMountain Business Lending, and Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce.

A lifelong Weber County resident, Kerry is a proud graduate of Ogden High School, Weber State University, and Utah State University. He and his wife, Julie, raised their six children in North Ogden and now make their home in the Ogden Valley. They can often be found cheering on the Weber State Wildcats at local football and basketball games.

After four decades of dedicated service to Goldenwest Credit Union, including 14 years as President and CEO, Kerry will retire on June 30, 2026. His leadership has strengthened not only a local financial institution, but also the economic vitality of Weber County and beyond. In recognition of his lasting impact, he is honored as a 2026 Wall of Fame recipient by the Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce.

Wall of Fame Award Sponsor

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Startup of the Year

Knowing tea is a small and simple thing, Atlas Tea Company aims to deliver the daily reminder that you matter, you have a place to take, you deserve to exist. Come and steep with us.

Utah-built barbecue restaurant founded by Texas native and pitmaster Steve Armstrong. Known for authentic Central Texas–style BBQ cooked low and slow, Steve’s blends real smoke, handcrafted food, and genuine hospitality. Built on community, quality, and consistency, Steve’s is a proud Veteran-Owned business committed to giving back to local and veteran-focused organizations.

Wellnest Fertility is a full-service fertility clinic dedicated to making high-quality reproductive care more accessible, affordable, and emotionally supportive. Founded with a patient-first approach, Wellnest combines evidence-based medicine with transparent pricing and compassionate care to support individuals and families through every stage of their fertility journey.

Startup of the Year Sponsor

Nonprofit of the Year

Seventy-six years ago, Beverly Lund and Ginny Matthei, believing in the power of live performance to elevate and connect community, organized a fundraiser to bring the Utah Symphony to Ogden. Today, that vision has grown into Onstage Ogden, Weber County’s leading performing arts presenter, engaging more than 25,000 people each year. Rooted in long-standing partnerships with the Utah Symphony and Ballet West, Onstage Ogden has expanded its programming and community engagement to keep the arts accessible, relevant, and impactful across Northern Utah.

Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership, Inc. (OWCAP) has been serving Weber County residents since 1965, working to strengthen families, support economic stability, and build resilient communities. As part of the national Community Action Network, OWCAP creates pathways to self-reliance through collaboration, education, and responsive services—meeting people where they are to not only address immediate needs but also empower them to achieve lasting stability, independence, and a stronger community for generations to come.

Suazo Business Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and Utah’s premier culturally responsive business development organization. Through expert advising, targeted training, and access to small business capital, Suazo supports entrepreneurs in launching, stabilizing, and growing prosperous companies. Its work strengthens financial capability, expands business ownership, creates jobs, and drives long-term economic growth across Utah.

Nonprofit of the Year Sponsor

Small Business of the Year

Momentum Employer Group is a Utah-based HR outsourcing and advisory firm that partners with small and mid-sized businesses to simplify HR and accelerate growth. Operating as an embedded extension of its clients’ leadership teams, Momentum provides both strategic guidance and hands-on execution. With a people-first approach, the firm helps organizations build strong cultures, confident leaders, and sustainable operations.

Mountain West Architecture is an Ogden-based architecture firm offering the highest quality design services available. After nearly three decades of experience and partnerships in other firms, Mark L. Hilles founded Mountain West Architects in 2011. In the 14 years since, MWA has firmly established itself in the Mountain West region, specializing in a wide variety of the design types including: interiors, commercial, office, retail, residential, educational, hospitality, healthcare, industrial, church and educational facilities. If you’ve spent any time in the West you know it has an unmistakable allure. The rich landscapes, unsurpassed quality of life, and endless recreational opportunities make it a place worth celebrating. As architects, we are committed to designing spaces and places that enrich the West. Our company is comprised of the founding Principal, Mark Hilles, as well as other seasoned design professionals, all with a passion for design excellence. The Mountain West Architecture team thrives on crafting meaningful projects that contribute to enhancing the West. With over a hundred years of combined design and project management experience, the MWA team brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Our mission is to provide superior regional architecture and design services coupled with excellence in client satisfaction. Our experience and portfolio are strong, and we’ve worked on hundreds of projects throughout the United States. MWA takes great lengths in going the extra mile to manage all the details and knows that we must come together to find one single, powerful solution. Success is rooted in managing all those details, and no one does it better than our team.

Psychological Preventative Health (PPH Therapy)

Psychological Preventive Health (PPH Therapy) is a multi-location outpatient mental health practice serving individuals, families, and communities across Northern Utah, including Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Logan. Founded in 2020, PPH was established to provide accessible, high-quality, preventive mental health care grounded in evidence-based practice, trauma-informed principles, and a deep commitment to community wellbeing.

PPH offers comprehensive behavioral health services for children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. Clinical services include treatment for trauma, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, relationship challenges, and life transitions, with specialized expertise in serving veterans, active-duty service members, first responders, and individuals exposed to chronic stress or high-risk environments.

PPH is co-founded and led by Michael Richardson and Melanie Richardson, LCSW, whose combined backgrounds provide strong clinical leadership and sophisticated operational oversight to the organization.

Michael Richardson is a retired U.S. Army officer and combat veteran with firsthand experience navigating post-traumatic stress and the long-term effects of military service. He currently serves as Owner and Operations Manager at PPH and is completing his Master of Social Work (MSW) at Capella University. His leadership focuses on organizational development, compliance, clinician support, and building sustainable systems that enable providers to deliver exceptional care.

Melanie Richardson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Clinical Director with more than a decade of experience in trauma-focused care, clinical supervision, and behavioral health program development. She oversees all clinical operations at PPH, including supervision, training, quality assurance, and ethical compliance. Melanie specializes in working with military service members, veterans, first responders, and their families, and provides comprehensive care to individuals, couples, families, and older adults across the lifespan. She is extensively trained in a wide range of evidence-based treatments and tailors care to address trauma, relationship challenges, life transitions, aging-related concerns, and complex mental health needs. She is licensed in both Utah and Idaho and serves in multiple leadership and advisory roles, including as Vice President of the Utah Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and as an appointed member of Idaho’s behavioral health planning board.

Under their joint leadership, PPH has grown from a startup practice into a thriving organization with more than 35 licensed clinicians and serving over 1,500 clients monthly. The practice maintains rigorous compliance with HIPAA, state licensing requirements, and payer regulations, and emphasizes clinician development through ongoing training, supervision, and internal continuing education.

PPH is deeply committed to community partnerships and advocacy. The organization maintains strong referral relationships with healthcare providers, schools, veterans’ organizations, first responder agencies, and community partners, and actively works to reduce barriers to mental health care through education, outreach, and collaboration. With a preventive, strengths-based philosophy, Psychological Preventive Health strives to normalize mental health care, promote early intervention, and support individuals and families in building resilience and long-term wellbeing.

Small Business of the Year Sponsor

Large Business of the Year

Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction, and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of its people and relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, Bechtel aligns its capabilities to customers’ objectives to create a lasting positive impact. Since 1898, Bechtel has helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world’s infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place. A Bechtel National, Inc., team of nearly 300 people in Ogden, Utah, are working closely with their customer, Northrop Grumman, to help design and construct the launch infrastructure component of Sentinel, the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation ground-based nuclear deterrent system. This weapons system will replace the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system as the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Bechtel’s project team has a mission focused on designing and delivering constructable solutions for launch infrastructure that will meet the Air Force’s requirements.

INW Capstone Nutrition is a leading turnkey contract manufacturer of high-quality dietary supplements, sports nutrition, personal care, and pet care products. Founded in 1988, Capstone partners with brands to bring ideas from concept to market through expert formulation, advanced manufacturing, packaging, and testing services. Serving customers in over 60 countries, Capstone is recognized for its commitment to trust, science, performance, and world-class quality standards.

Large Business of the Year Sponsor