Volunteer of the Year: Elaine Yates
Presented by Sandra Slattery 

Elaine was honored as the Volunteer of the Year for 2022. Elaine and her husband, Michael, moved to Ashland in 2016 and immediately got involved in the community wanting to engage with others, make new friends and help out wherever she could. She joined the Chamber as one of our office volunteers right after moving here. Her successful previous career in office management combined with her always professional demeanor, intelligence and humor has been an incredible asset to us. We all love working with her and are pleased to be recognizing this year – Elaine Yates as our Volunteer of the Year for 2022.

We deeply value our volunteers. After having to close the office to the public March 20, 2020, we were thrilled to be able to open back up in-person to the public in June 2020 just as soon as we could legally and safely do so with all the precautions. We were the only Chamber in southern Oregon to do this and one of the very few offices who answered their phones with a real person instead of a recording. This may seem like a small thing now, but the appreciation we received from customers and the public was significant and is still. Of course, like everyone, we were masked and outfitted with protective equipment, shields, signage and all the rest. Our volunteers had to answer numerous questions from the public and deal with sometimes very challenging situations but did so, as they always do, with grace, kindness and the most helpful assistance they can offer.