The finalists will be recognized at the 2025 Heart of Gold Dinner & Auction on April 18
The Rotary Club of Wilsonville has selected three individuals and one couple as finalists for the 2024 Wilsonville First Citizen award. They are Charbonneau volunteer Mary Fieweger, former Wilsonville mayor Julie Fitzgerald, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility volunteers Stan and Julia Satter, and Lyn Whelchel, director of the Heart of the City organization that helps those in need.
The First Citizen award honors a local community member for their exceptional volunteer service to the local community. The finalists came from nominations submitted by the Wilsonville community members. Any adult individual or couple who lives, works, or volunteers in Wilsonville is eligible. Nominations were reviewed by a committee of Rotarians, community leaders and past Wilsonville First Citizens.
All of the finalists will be honored at the club’s annual Heart of Gold Gala and Auction, which will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 at the Wilsonville Holiday Inn, 25425 S.W. 95th Avenue, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070. Tickets to the event are available at WilsonvilleHeart.com.
This year’s theme is “The Magic of Service,” recognizing the alchemy that occurs when people join forces and take the lead in helping their community. At the end of the evening, the 2024 Wilsonville First Citizen, as chosen by the committee, will be announced.
“Wilsonville’s volunteers truly make our community a magical place to live,” said Mike Bishop, club president. “We all benefit greatly from people who are always willing to give more. Their spirit of generosity with their time and talent is truly transformative, inspiring others to contribute as well.”
The Heart of Gold gathering has been held annually since 2002, but the 2025 edition will be a special one. It will celebrate the 50thanniversary of the Rotary Club of Wilsonville, which was founded in 1975.
Biographies of the finalists are as follows.
- Mary Fieweger — Mary puts her organizational and fundraising talents to work in many ways in Charbonneau. She served as president of the Charbonneau Ladies Niners golf association and chaired its Pink Ball golf tournament for five years, with all proceeds going to cancer research at OHSU. She served, Boys and Girls Aid Society board member, as Charbonneau Country Club (homeowners association) board member, as welcoming committee chair, as a Charbonneau Arts Association board member, and as leader of a women’s church group, and as Charbonneau’s representative to the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce.
- Julie Fitzgerald — A Wilsonville resident since 2007, Julie served on the Wilsonville City Council from 2012–2016, and as mayor from 2021–2024. She was instrumental in helping launch the city’s Civics Academy, with the goal of increasing community involvement and knowledge of civic operations. She has been an adviser, employee or volunteer with Oregon 4-H Foundation, OHSU Foundation, Clackamas County Business Alliance, Clackamas Repertory Theatre, Wilsonville Community Sharing, Wilsonville Public Library Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and the Oregon Zoo Foundation.
- Stan and Julia Satter — Stan and Julia, who live in Wilsonville, have been Prison Fellowship volunteers at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility since it opened in 2001. They have organized an annual Singing Christmas Tree at the prison’s minimum and medium security facilities for many years running. Julia has served on the Prison Advisory Committee since it was created prior to the prison opening, and helped keep it active during COVID. Stan serves as a precinct committee person and as a volunteer election observer, and as director and treasurer of his homeowners association (HOA) in the Landover neighborhood.
- Lyn Whelchel — Lyn serves as the only director in the history of Heart of the City, which was founded by Grace Chapel to provide marginalized populations with needed resources, including food, personal items, clothing, counseling, recovery services, financial assistance and more. She stepped up to assist victims of the Oregon wildfires in 2000. She has served as a foster and adoptive parent and teaches classes for prospective foster and adoptive parents, helping others navigate their journey and ensuring future generations are raised in nurturing and supportive environments.
Besides honoring Wilsonville’s First Citizen, Heart of Gold event serves as the main fundraiser for the Wilsonville Rotary Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Money is raised through sponsorships, auction purchases, donations, raffle and game tickets, dinner tickets and other contributions that night. The Wilsonville Rotary Foundation, in turn, provides funding for the numerous service projects conducted or supported by the Rotary Club of Wilsonville, including:
- Wilsonville Rotary Summer Concerts — These FREE summer concerts in Town Center Park (www.wilsonvilleconcerts.com) provide high quality family entertainment to benefit polio eradication through voluntary donations to End Polio Now. This year’s shows will be July 17, July 24, July 31 and August 7.
- Through A Child’s Eyes (TACE) — A two-day annual event at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility to strengthen inmate families and break the negative intergenerational cycles that lead to incarceration.
- Good Eggs Omelet Breakfasts — Rotary partners with local schools and other organizations to create fundraising breakfasts and dinners with multiple revenue streams.
- Community Service — The club conducts numerous community service projects throughout the year, which include both one-time and ongoing projects. These projects are often completed in partnership with community organizations, such as Family Empowerment Center, Boys and Girls Aid Society, Habitat for Humanity and others.
- Rotary Youth Exchange — These exchanges send local students abroad for short-term and long-term exchanges and host international students for the same in Wilsonville.
- Dolly Parton Imagination Library — This program provides free books monthly for young readers, in partnership with the Wilsonville Public Library. Rotary has expanded the program to include the children of adults in custody at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.
- College Scholarships — The club awards several scholarships to deserving high school graduates from Wilsonville to support their future education.
- Support of Scouting America — The club sponsors one Scouts BSA troop and two Cub Scout packs in Wilsonville.
- Peacebuilding — The Rotary Club of Wilsonville is an official Peacebuilder Club and has installed three Peace Poles in the community, with more to come.
The club also supports international service projects conducted throughout the world by the Wilsonville club and other area clubs, and responds to certain needs as they arise. To purchase tickets to the event, community members can go to WilsonvilleHeart.com.
At last year’s Heart of Gold Celebration, Brad Hansen accepted the 2023 Wilsonville First Citizen award. Prior First Citizen award winners include Tammy Sue Bradley, Lisa Krecklow, Elaine Swyt, Jake and Dianne McMichael, John Budiao, Jordan Scoggins, Tim Knapp, Sherine Beltran, Jaimy Beltran, Donna Bane, Kathryn Whittaker, Jay Puppo, Dick Spence, Debi Laue, Lonnie and Julie Gieber, Theonie Gilmore, Anne Easterly, Ron Anderson, Bob and Judy Woodle, Alan Kirk, Doris Wehler, Sue Ludlow, John Ludlow, Charlotte Lehan and Dr. Laura LaJoie Bishop.
Nominations are accepted on an ongoing basis at WilsonvilleRotary.com/nominate. For further information or any questions, please contact Mike Bishop at 503-519-5991 or President@WilsonvilleRotary.com.
About Rotary — Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 36,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. Through Rotary’s disease treatment and prevention programs, members educate and equip communities to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases like polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. For more information, visit Rotary.org
About the Rotary Club of Wilsonville — The Rotary Club of Wilsonville was founded in 1975 and is dedicated to friendship and service projects. The club carries out several signature service projects throughout the year, including the innovative Through A Child’s Eyes program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, the annual Wilsonville Rotary Summer Concerts, several Good Eggs omelet and pancake breakfasts throughout the year, the Wilsonville First Citizen awards program, and much more. The club meets weekly, Thursdays at 11:45 a.m. at Black Bear Diner, and has 40 members. Log on to WilsonvilleRotary.com for more information.