GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Chamber of Commerce is recognizing businesses and community leaders for excellence through their annual awards.
This is the second year the Chamber has given out the Youth Empowerment Award. This year’s winner is Jamie Marshall.
Marshall especially appreciates the title of the award: “I love the word empowerment. That's a huge part of my passion in life is empowering people to become who they are, what they want to be, how they want to achieve whether that's on an individual level, familial level, or community level."
Marshall has been working for years to better the lives of children and families in Great Falls. She chairs NoMore Violence Week, works with the Dandelion Foundation, and is on the Prevent Child Abuse & Neglect task force. She also serves as the chair for the Kids Education Yes campaign that advocated for the operational GFPS levy, which passed in May. Her work with that campaign is one of the reasons she was chosen for the award.
"She's been an incredible leader. She's incredibly humble, very strategic, but at the same time well thought out in what we needed to do,” explained Great Falls Chamber of Commerce president Shane Etzwiler.
In a community that has felt the effects of child abuse and neglect, Marshall wants to dedicate her time and energy to education and advocacy.
“I really do have a great belief that Great Falls will continue to become better and be better and empower itself to grow into a community that really thrives as we focus on children and families,” Marshall said.
Marshall is the second winner of the Youth Empowerment Award. Paris Gibson Education Center principal Drew Uecker was the first recipient of the award last year.
