Citizen of the Year: The Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce named local resident Julie Kelchak Citizen of the Year at it's annual Installation Dinner Saturday evening at Sand Creek Country Club. Kelchak will be celebrating her 25th year with Anton Insurance Agency this August. She is a member of Delta Theta Tau Sorority and is involved with Les Turner ALS Foundation, as well as the American Cancer Society. Kelchak is being presented the award by Chamber member and friend Jim Anton. (Tribune photo by Dana Gilbertson)

Julie Kelchak’s tireless community volunteer efforts were honored Saturday by the Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce. Kelchak was awarded the Citizen of the Year at the Chamber’s Installation banquet held at Sand Creek.

Kelchak, a licensed insurance agent for over 23 years with Anton Insurance Agency, has gone to great lengths to support the causes she believes in.

A member of Delta Theta Tau sorority since 1984, Kelchak has also been a Relay for Life team member each year since 1995.

She has served as the ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) Chesterton co-chair since 1999 and as a Community Prayer Breakfast sub-committee chair since 2002.

Kelchak completed the Breast Cancer 3-day walk in August 2004 and has been a repeat volunteer for the Duneland Chamber Career Day.

In 2003 Kelchak was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by the Chesteron-Porter Rotary.

While at Anton Insurance, Kelchak has always been willing to be the committee person behind-the-scenes. Whether for Rotary, Kiwanis, the Chamber, Spring Valley Homeless Shelter, St. Patrick’s Church or on behalf of her employers, she has been “willing to take the ball and run with it,” said Jim Anton.

Kelchak has exceptional organization skills and gives attention to each little detail.

She is a team player who “doesn’t require recognition to give back to the community,” Anton said in nominating Kelchak.

“Doing volunteer work has been part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Kelchak said of herself. She remembers her Mom “lugging me along” to various charitable events, first because she didn’t have a baby-sitter, then as her helper. Now Kelchak is a full fledged volunteer in her own right.

“It makes me feel thankful for what I have,” she said, “and that I’m able to help out and most of all to see the happiness it brings to others.”

Posted 1/28/2008