From left to right: Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Director Rachel Karp poses with 2023 Citizen on the Year Franny Preston. (Photo provided — Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce)

SARANAC LAKE — In planning for its annual dinner, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations from its members and the community for the 2024 Don Duso Citizen of the Year award.

The award, which will be presented at the 2024 Annual Dinner on Thursday, June 13 at the Saranac Waterfront Lodge, will go to a community member who has shown significant contribution to the community of Saranac Lake and the surrounding areas. The chamber of commerce will accept nominations for the award until Monday, May 20.

Nominations must identify how the citizen meets the following criteria:

— Outstanding service to the community

— Significant and sustained contribution to the quality of life in the area

— An individual who exemplifies Saranac Lake’s community spirit.

The public may submit nominations via mail to 39 Main St. Suite 2, Saranac Lake, NY 12983 or by emailing director@slareachamber.org. Nominations should include a description of why the individual is being nominated for the award.

A committee of past Citizen of the Year recipients will review the nominations and announce the winner at this year’s annual dinner on June 13. The award is named after Don Duso who died in 2010 and received the award in 1984. He was a lifelong resident of the area, owned and operated Crescent Bay, Inc, and was very active in the community. Duso served as chairman of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee for 23 years and a member of the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department for 53 years.

The Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce is the community’s advocate for business and economic development. Its mission is to act as a catalyst for business and community development by providing services and representation for its membership and to generate economic development through promotional and marketing strategies. The chamber provides business-building initiatives that focus on the critical priorities of the Saranac Lake community. To learn more and purchase tickets for the annual dinner, visit www.slareachamber.org/events.

Franny Preston was honored as last year’s Citizen of the Year. She has served on the Lake Placid Sinfonietta board, the Saranac Lake Free Library board, the Village Mercantile board, is actively involved with St. Lukes Church, has been a member of the Rotary Club for the past 19 years, including serving as president for one year and the MC of the Rotary Show for about five years.