A tip of the hat to those recognized at the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Citizens Awards.

In any community, there are people who do a disproportionately large amount of the work. Some have an extensive list of committees and volunteer leadership positions to their name, others haven’t held as many official titles but work tirelessly behind the scenes to take care of the details and people that would otherwise slip through the cracks. All are making a crucial difference to those around them, and it is nice to see a few given their deserved moment in the spotlight each year.

Man of the Year Ken Huber, Woman of the Year Cindy Middleton, Business of the Year M&M Potato and Merit Award winner Doug Alvarez deserve a round of applause for their contributions to Hermiston, each as unique as the winners themselves.

We also tip our hat to Hermiston School Year’s educators of the year, who were recognized via video at this year’s banquet. It has been a difficult year for teachers and other school staff, but the praise heaped on the 10 educators recognized by their colleagues shows many are still going out of their way to connect with students.

A tip of the hat to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the National Guard, and all who were involved in this past week’s COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic. The clinic added hundreds of area residents to the rolls of those vaccinated, helping protect all of us.

A tip of the hat to all Umatilla County residents who did their part to help the county qualify for a move from extreme risk to high risk for COVID-19, allowing restaurants, gyms and other businesses to start the reopening process. Lower COVID-19 rates have also helped schools reopen.

Bringing COVID-19 numbers down so significantly in what has been Oregon’s hotspot for most of the pandemic has not been easy, and we’re grateful for those who have made a concerted, good faith effort to follow scientists’ guidance to get the county where it is now. We’re also grateful to the Oregon Health Authority for recognizing that a state error in not reporting a set of old test results until last week should not count against Umatilla County’s reopening efforts.

Let’s not let students and businesses down by hosting risky gatherings or letting other safety measures slide that would jeopardize these reopenings.