GREAT FALLS — Nominations are now open for the 12th annual Paris Gibson Award, named for the founder of Great Falls. It was established to honor the citizen who best embodies the vision and excellence exemplified by Paris Gibson.
To be eligible for the award, selected by previous Paris Gibson Award winners, a nominee must meet the following criteria:
- Is currently a resident of Great Falls
- Has provided significant impact to the City of Great Falls
- Has provided leadership for the community through volunteerism
- Has performed selfless action for the betterment of the community
Paris Gibson Award committee member Norma Ashby Smith started the program. She said, "We thought, let's have a Paris Gibson award to honor a citizen in this town who is visionary about the community, who is a volunteer, a good volunteer, and kind of embodies the spirit of our founder, so we established that 12 years ago, and over these 12 years, we have honored outstanding citizens of our town."
Nomination forms are available at the Park and Recreation Office, 1700 River Drive North or on the City website. Deadline for entries is May 13, 2022. For questions about the award, contact Norma Ashby Smith, 590-6798 or at ashby7@charter.net.
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The award winner will receive a $500 check provided by Jimmy and Debbie Filipowicz of Steel Etc., which may be given to a charity of the winner’s choice; a tree, donated by Steve Tilleraas of Tilleraas Landscape Nursery, planted in West Bank Park in their honor, with a granite marker donated by Montana Granite; a plaque donated by Greg and Leanne Hall; a dinner for two at P. Gibson’s, donated by P. Gibson’s Sports Grill; and a ride in a 1918 Model T Ford provided by Kurt Baltrusch of the Skunk Wagon Club in the Fourth of July Parade. The winner will be announced before the Great Falls Municipal Band Concert at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29 in the Mansfield Convention Center.
Previous winners include: Doug Wicks, 2010; Norma Ashby, 2011; Greg Hall, 2012; Ian and Nancy Davidson, 2013; Gene Thayer, 2014; Bill and Joan-Nell Macfadden, 2015; Arlyne Reichert, 2016; Sheila Rice, 2017; Brad Talcott and Linda Caricaburu, 2018; Chuck and Gerry Jennings, 2019; Judy Ericksen, 2020.
