Potsdam Chamber names 2010 'Commitment to Community' recipient

POTSDAM – The Potsdam Chamber of Commerce will honor Pam Yurgartis as its 2010 Commitment to the Community Award winner.

The award will be presented at the chamber’s annual dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at SUNY Potsdam’s Thatcher Hall.

Yurgartis has been part of many service organizations, including the Potsdam Parent Teacher Student Association, the Potsdam Public Library board, the Friends of the Potsdam Library, the Potsdam Holiday Fund, and Kiwanis.

The award is for individuals or organizations enhancing quality of life, providing service to fellow citizens, and improving the business environment in Potsdam. One letter supporting Yurgartis’ nomination said simply, “Pam exemplifies the criteria for this award by her many years of quiet, dedicated, and effective service to the community in a variety of ways.”

She has served as a Potsdam Public Library board member for the past seven years, as president from June 2005 to June 2009. “Her progressive ideas have helped the library redefine itself as a community center,” says Potsdam Public Library Director Pat Musante. “Pam lives a life of service.”

Yurgartis has also been involved for 11 years with the Friends of the Potsdam Public Library, and has served on their board. She is a regular at their weekly bookstore, and when the group built the new Friends bookstore, “it would not have been done so quickly and efficiently if not for Pam.”

She has worked for many years as a volunteer and officer with the Potsdam Holiday Fund, which provides new toys, clothing, boots, and food to families and senior citizens in need in the Potsdam area. Yurgartis served as secretary in 2005, and was elected president in 2009.

Yurgartis was in the Kiwanis Club of Potsdam for four years, during which time she received recognition as Kiwanian of the Year, which is their highest local honor. She was the driving force behind the Kiwanis cleanup efforts in Cubley Park.

She has held several offices and committee positions with the Potsdam Parent Teacher Student Association. At the local PTSA level Pam is known for her work with Teacher Appreciation Week, support of PTSA middle school dances, elementary school Fun Fairs, author visits, and the rebuilding of the playground at the elementary school. She also served on the North Country Region Board for PTA, which covers PTAs and PTSAs in Clinton, Essex, St. Lawrence, and Franklin counties. For her dedication and work for the region Yurgartis was awarded the Honorary Life Membership Award and also was honored with the Jane Skrzypek Leadership Award, given to only one person statewide each year.

She received a SUNY Potsdam Leadership Through Service Award in 2005 in “recognition of the quiet and selfless leadership she provides to make the North Country community a better place.”

Pam and her husband Steve have lived in Potsdam for 23 years. Steve is involved in local government, serving as a village trustee. They have raised three boys, Ben, Greg, and Tom, all out of the house now, but still living in the North Country.

To make reservations for the dinner, or to learn more, contact the chamber at 274-9000 or [email protected].