The Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce held their annual Awards Banquet on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at the Boat House Wine Co.

Karen Griffin, Bloomfield Chamber Board Member, presented the Man of the Year Award.

Every year at this time we pause and look at our community to see a fitting person to honor as Man of the Year.  This man has served the City of Bloomfield diligently in several areas of our community.

He has served as Stoddard County Road District Commissioner Board for over 10 years and Housing Authority Board Member for over 1 year.

This man spent several weeks and months a year in making the Bloomfield Country Club what it is today.  His work on the golf course has made it one of the premier 9-hole courses in Southeast Missouri.

The other service which stands out in his undying work is on our our City Park Board.  He has served on the Park Board for about 30 years.  He has volunteered his time, has went above and beyond through the years taking it upon himself to fix things at the park, clean and pick up daily, worked tirelessly on every aspect of the park as well.  Rain, snow, etc., did not stop him from his dedication to keeping our park and amenities working and keeping it very clean.

Bathrooms were always opened early morning and closed by him late at night.  His service to our park was all volunteer without any pay.  Our park would not be what it is today without the dedication and love for it by this man.

He is also very dedicated and committed to the First Baptist Church and his family, wife Mary Ann Allen, of 48 years and two children, Jennifer Waggoner and Jonathan Allen as well as three grandchildren.  He is a very dedicated man to his friends and community.

The Man of the year is Kenneth Allen.  Ken had decided to retire from the park board in December, but he still calls and checks in on the park board.  He has done an amazing amount for work for our town!