Each year, the Moab Chamber of Commerce awards one local business with “Business of the Year” and one person as “Citizen of the Year.” In 2021, they added a “Nonprofit of the Year” award for the first time. City Market, Brendon Cameron and the Moab Free Health Clinic were honored at the annual Moab Chamber of Commerce banquet on Oct. 29.
The first Nonprofit of the Year award went to the Moab Free Health Clinic, which offers medical care for people who are uninsured, underinsured, and near or below the poverty level. The clinic is expected to serve 10% of Grand County’s population by the end of 2021.
In an interview with the Moab Sun News in September, Doug Caylor, executive director at the clinic, said the clinic never closed its doors throughout the pandemic.
“We’ve been making ourselves available for the needs of the community and doing what we can to plug into those needs and help,” he said. “That’s kept us on the forefront of everybody’s minds.”
In a press release, the Chamber of Commerce commended the clinic for both its “tireless [work] through the pandemic to provide much needed access to care in our community,” and for a new program that helps businesses in Moab offer benefits to their employees.
“They are long time Chamber members finding ways to support businesses and community alike,” the Chamber said.
The Business of the Year award went to City Market, located on Main Street, which the Chamber lauded for going “above and beyond, working tirelessly during the pandemic to make adjustments for COVID regulations, supply shortages, workforce shortages and high tensions over the past two years.”
The chain store has become “part of our community,” the Chamber said. The Chamber also highlighted City Market’s support of local families, nonprofits and businesses.
Brendon Cameron, manager at the City Market, was awarded Citizen of the Year. The Chamber reported that they received a record number of nominations for Cameron, who also serves on the Chamber board of directors. The Chamber said Cameron won the award because he “has made personal efforts and sacrifices to better the lives of those around him.”
“To Brendon, community is more than a group of people living in the same place—it’s a feeling of fellowship, support and unity, and Brendon actively fosters those things daily,” the Chamber wrote. “Whether through jokes, encouragement, or jumping in to fill a need, Brendon has gone out of his way to support and make Moab his community.”
