Members of the Delta community were recognized for leadership and participation in business and civic interactions at the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual summit luncheon last Wednesday.
Nominees were selected and a vote was held by the chamber board of directors to pick this year’s winners.
Jon Finlinson of Intermountain Power Service Corporation was named Area Giant, with Delta Community Medical Center receiving the Business of the Year award. Justin Taylor, DACC president, acted as emcee and presented the awards at the luncheon.
Area Giant
A longstanding supporter of the community, Jon Finlinson was nominated for his constant willingness to support civic and school functions and donations to fundraisers and relief programs.
“(Jon’s) leadership and fi nancial donations to the community, schools, kids programs, food bank and other resources are invaluable,” Taylor read from a nomination. “He does not enjoy the spotlight, but deserves some recognition.”
Additionally, Finlinson was recognized for his strive to keep job opportunities afloat for the community despite the looming shutdown of the coal fired units at the power plant.
Finlinson’s career began in 1983 as a trainee. He climbed the ranks of the company throughout the years, eventually being promoted to president and chief operating officer of the facility in 2010.
“Jon cares about each of his employees, knows all of their names and listens to all of their concerns,” an employee statement read. “He believes in treating employees with kindness, fairness and dignity. He expects the best of his employees. He does not seek recognition or praise, in fact, he hides from it. He considers the impact of his decisions on the community.”
“When (Taylor) called me a few weeks ago to talk to me about (the award,) I told him I was a low-profile kind of guy, and I didn’t need any recognition,” Finlinson said. “For me, to have this recognition, let’s be realistic, although I can be a nice guy, it is because I am connected to IPP, which is to all of us, a big impact. I am fortunate it worked out for me.”
Finlinson credits his company and community for its continual support of each other, even when the company was continually managed by larger figures in the corporate ladder.
“Over the years, the owners and participants developed confidence in us, so now we are pretty self-supporting, and we make the decisions for the facility,” Finlinson. “And so what that has led to in this area is community support. We get to decide what we deal with and support.”
Finlinson emphasized the support of youth programs and future leaders of the local community.
“We at IPSC have spent quite a bit of effort when the school needs something, or an after school program needs something,” he said. “We don’t need advertising or publicity; we are not recruiting customers. We just want to be as helpful and supportive as we can.”
Finlinson did address the elephant in the room; things are changing.
“We all know changes are coming,” he said. “And one of those is I will not be there, because I will not make the transition from the old facility to the new. Some of my coworkers won’t either. We are working in-house to try to manage the transition from the old to new to ensure our existing employees have the best chance of moving on.”
Finlinson said he still believes IPSC will not falter from its stalwart support of the community, despite the changes.
“I believe it still be supportive of the community and helpful going forward,” Finlinson said. “We have a lot of great employees, and we will have great successors. I do appreciate the recognition, and I do thank you for the support.”
Staff and management from Delta Community Hospital pose for a photo with their Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year award last week at the chamber summit.Business of the Year
Built by the community itself, the Delta Community Medical Center started as the West Millard Hospital in what is now the White River Academy. The hospital joined Intermountain Healthcare, who in turn built a replacement facility in May 1985, where the current hospital and clinics now stand.
A not for profit hospital, the Delta Community Medical Center is also a critical care access location, holds 18 acute care beds and two birthing suites. The facility employs 82 local individuals.
The hospital was deemed essential during the early outbreak and shutdowns of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Taylor read in a statement, requiring its employees to work despite the threats of possible exposure.
“The hospital tried to set an appropriate tone for the community early on,” he said. “So much drastic changes happened so quickly, and it felt a duty to contain a growing pandemic.”
No COVID-19 patients were kept in the Delta hospital; all were transferred to larger, better prepared and equipped northern facilities.
“The benefits the hospital provides to the community are enormous,” Taylor said. “The hospital provides care for the sick regardless of care.” In 2020, over $17,000 was used in charity care for those unable to pay for healthcare.
In order to continue providing continual care for its patients, the hospital is currently undergoing expansion projects to enlarge its emergency room, lab, pharmacy and ultrasound areas. The projects are expected to be completed in the fall of 2021.
“We are very honored to serve each of you,” Kurt Forsyth, hospital administrator said. “We are very proud to be allowed to have each of our caretakers work throughout the last year. We are very pleased to be part of this community; we are thrilled that it was felt we deserved to be business of the year.”
