Juneau Chamber Honors Jerry Harmon, Alaska Miners
With a mining theme and décor honoring the capital city’s long mining heritage, the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce recently held its first annual awards banquet since 2019 with a crowd of more than 300. The chamber also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award to Jerry Harmon who is well known in the Juneau community as a founder and the president of Juneau Gold Rush Days, a miner for more than 40 years and a volunteer across numerous projects and boards in Juneau. “I love to volunteer, I get a lot out of it,” he said after receiving the award. “It’s not an ‘I thing,’ it’s a ‘we thing.’” Harmon’s has been involved with the popular Juneau Gold Rush Days since it was founded in 1990 and this year it celebrated its 30th year after missing the past two years. The event —which celebrates Juneau’s long mining and logging history — has made a significant impact in the community for decades and during its peak years, it attracted more than 10,000 people to a variety of contests, vendors, fair foods, gold panning and children’s activities. Harmon said he is grateful for the award and for the other people and volunteers who don’t get this recognition.
“I accept this award for all the volunteers in the city of Juneau,” he said. Incoming president John Blasco, business project manager at Alaskan Brewing Co., was sworn in at the event. Dick and Candy Behrends, married couple and co-owners of Behrends Mechanical Inc., were surprised to be named Citizens of the Year for their contribution to the Juneau community both charitably and through their volunteer work over many years. Blasco described the pair as “true pillars” in the community, each for their individual work and their contribution as a duo. “They are some of the nicest and friendliest people you will ever meet,” Blasco said about the pair. Candy said she was honored and surprised to receive the award and gave a short thanks to the chamber and people in the crowd. “We are deeply honored to be recognized this way, thank you very much,” Candy said on behalf of them both. — Courtesy Juneau Empire
Photo Courtesy Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Jerry Harmon accepts his Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the Juneau community as a founder and the president of Juneau Gold Rush Days, a miner for more than 40 years and a volunteer across numerous projects and boards in Juneau.
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MinerJournal.indd 1 November 2022 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
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