Ed DeGaris was a police officer, a city councilman and a member of multiple community boards. Now, his name will live on in an award for the most dedicated members of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce: the Ed DeGaris Ambassador of the Year Award.
The award’s first recipient was Amber Christian of Christian Automotive. She said it was “very honoring and humbling” to be recognized by the Chamber and to win an award memorializing one of Poplar Bluff’s giants.
“Along with his duties as mayor, he was at every single ribbon cutting. He came and helped decorate for every single Chamber banquet. He judged every single trivia contest,” she recalled. “He was just super active and ... he was just a lovely guy. His dedication to the community was second to none.”
During this year’s Chamber Banquet, Chamber President Steve Halter had high words of praise for “Papa Bluff,” as DeGaris was known.
“Our community was very much blessed by all that Ed DeGaris did for us. Not only did he serve us proudly for many years at the PBPD, but he continued to serve as a true ambassador for our city and the chamber,” he said. “...I decided the best way to honor the memory of arguably one of our best ambassadors ever (was to) name the Ambassador of the Year award after Ed. My board of directors unanimously approved the idea, so we were very excited to make that announcement at the banquet.”
DeGaris passed away in June of last year.
The award was previously known as the Ambassador of the Year Award. Halter said the ambassadors, a volunteering team of business owners, compete for the award through participation.
“We have a point system for our ambassadors, based on attendance and help at events,” he said.
Christian is the ambassador for Christian Automotive & Tire, formerly Simmons Automotive & Tire. She and her husband Corey have operated the business since 2020, she explained, and her primary responsibilities are bookkeeping, payroll and marketing. She prefers marketing and other creative aspects of entrepreneurship, and so appreciates the chance to network through the Ambassadors.
“It offers me the opportunity to be able to network with people who need their automotive needs taken care of, whether they have a fleet of automobiles or their own personal automobile ... It also gave me the opportunity to get back into more creatively fulfilling work,” she explained.
This creative work includes attending ribbon cuttings, managing events, and representing the Chamber within the community it serves.
Christian began her career in marketing at Uboon2, then moved on to become marketing manager at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center from 2011-2017. She was also the marketing manager of Southern Bank from 2017-2019.