Boyles named Citizen of the Year

The Marlow Chamber of Commerce celebrated area businesses and individuals at its annual banquet Monday evening.

Awards were given out in three categories – community improvement, free enterprise and citizen of the year.

The Community Improvement Award went to J.R. and Natalie Pettijohn of Pettijohn Insurance Agency. The Pettijohns renovated and upgraded a Marlow historic downtown building to open their Farmers Insurance Agency on North Broadway.

The Free Enterprise Award went to the owners of Guiseppe’s Italian Dining. The Free Enterprise Award is given to a business that succeeds in operations and contributing to the community.

Heath Boyles was named Citizen of the Year, not only for his Marlow Family Healthcare where he is a nurse practitioner, but his contributions to the community through the chamber, the Lions Club, school and youth sports leagues.

“I’d like to thank my family for sticking with me, it’s a long road,” Boyles said. “I’m trying to give back to the community that gave so much to me. God gives and he takes away.”

State Rep. Brad Boles was the keynote speaker as he gave an update on business at the State Capitol.

Boles said it was quite an interesting session as he was greeted with the teacher walkout when upwards of 50,000 supporters descended on the State Capitol for more than a week.

Besides said now that education funding has been somewhat resolved, he said the focus was now on other agencies like the Department of Human Services and rural hospitals.

He mentioned a DHS caseworker that has seen her caseload grow from 100 to 500 with no additional funding coming from the state. In fact, most state agencies had to do more with less.

“Eighty-five percent of state agencies had been cut by 40 percent or more,” Boles said. “There is a point when we have to be willing to invest. When you are not willing to invest, what do you have for the future?”

Boles said not only are there party lines legislators must deal with, but also lines between urban and rural representatives.

“Sometimes there is a different philosophy on what needs to be done,” Boles said.