The highlight of the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance Annual Banquet on Thursday evening was the announcement of Robb Gardner as the 2022 Citizen of the Year.
Gardner served on the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce Board from 2015-2021 including serving as President in 2018. He is a member of the Noon Rotary Club and is an active member of the Mount Pleasant Athletic Booster Club. He has been a member of the Iowa Wesleyan President’s Advisory Council, St Alphonsus Church Parish Council, and served on presidential search committees for area schools.
Through Gardner’s 13 years of executive leadership at Henry County Health Center and his commitment to the region, he has succeeded in bringing ideas and people together and making things happen. His dedication has resulted in a variety of awards for HCHC, including Top 100 Critical Access Hospital awards, the Outstanding Rural Health Organization of the Year, and Most Wired Hospital awards. This past year, he received one of the Iowa Hospital Association’s highest recognitions, the Excellence in Leadership award.
The Chamber of Commerce has been awarding the Citizen of the Year since 1972 to individuals that live and/or work in the Mount Pleasant area who have had a significant impact on the community through their volunteer and charitable activities. The winner is selected each year by the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Other awards this year included The Fellowship Cup receiving the Humanitarian Award; Melinda Huisinga receiving the Ambassador of the Year; and Lori White as the Volunteer of the Year. This was the 80th Annual Banquet for the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce.