Celebrate Palmer event honors pride, dedication, community spirit

Although rain was in the forecast, that didn’t stop the City of Palmer from celebrating the vibrant community spirit during the 2025 Celebrate Palmer gathering on Friday, July 25.

Sponsored by the City of Palmer, Celebrate Palmer is an annual community event that brings together businesses and those who call Palmer home to celebrate the town and its people.

The event included a picnic, and an awards ceremony, recognizing local business’s commitment and efforts to beautify the local community. This year’s winner was Janelle Fox at Sweet Gypsy, and coming in second was Pete Christopher with the Mat-Su Miners.

Celebrate Palmer also honored residents’ work to add their own beauty to the city, with nearly two dozen entries. This year’s Residential Beautification winners are: Robert Wright, 749 S Gulkana; Scott Caple, 415 N Bonanza; Thomas Dittbrender, 223 S Silvertip; Barbara Howard, 240 N Independence.

Other awards recognized during the event included Business of the Year, which went to Aktive Soles. Owner Anne Thomas was on hand to accept the award.

Carla Swick was honored as Ambassador of the Year, recognized for her hard work and dedication to the Palmer–Saroma Sister City program.

Citizen of the Year was awarded posthumously to Tom Healy for his lasting contributions to Palmer, where he served as Palmer City Manager until his first "retirement" in 2007. He remained involved in the community as Palmer Public Works Director. His wife Marcia and son Tyler accepted the award on his behalf.

There was also free food, face painting, a kissing booth with Ernie the pig and Woody the dog, and lots of activities for the kids. Not to mention an opportunity for residents to show their appreciation to city staff and employees, with a chance to “Cream the Council” as Mayor Steve Carrington, Deputy Mayor Josh Tudor, and councilmen Jim Cooper and John Alcantra all taking the pies like champs, with proceeds going to the new library.

Community Development Director Nathaniel Ouzts and Library Director Joy Bailey also braved the dunk tank as part of the “Dunk a Director” fun. Proceeds also went to the new library.