Salem Leadership Foundation Executive Director and Salem champion Sam Skillern will be named Salem’s 2024 First Citizen at the First Citizen Awards Banquet on Saturday, April 13.
On Friday, March 22, a group of Sam’s family and friends, along with his wife, Jennifer, joined us to surprise him at The Sassy Onion with the news of his recognition. Join us at the First Citizen Awards Banquet to see the surprise on video!
Known as one of our city’s foremost advocates, community-builders, and ambassadors, Sam Skillern has spent most of his life and career creating positive impacts in our community.
As the Executive Director of the Salem Leadership Foundation (SLF) since the organization’s beginnings in 1996, Sam has worked diligently, thoughtfully, and gracefully to build collaborative bridges between Salem’s faith, education, business, and government organizations in working toward common goals. Through the powers of faith, connections, and positive communication, Sam has consistently rallied the community around efforts to reduce crime and poverty while increasing the holistic well-being of children and families.
During Sam’s tenure at SLF, the organization has helped launch and facilitate dozens of faith and school-based partnerships, after-school programs, youth sports programs, and homelessness initiatives — all while inspiring and helping establish other non-profits in the area, including Church @ The Park and Family Promise of the Mid-Willamette Valley.
With a servant’s heart, mission-driven leadership skills, and unwavering faith always fueling him, Sam’s spirit and belief in Salem’s future are inspiring and motivating.
73rd First Citizen Awards Banquet
Saturday, April 13
Salem Convention Center
GET TICKETS: https://salemchamber.org/events/first-citizen/
Join us at the banquet to celebrate Sam, the rest of our esteemed honorees, and our incredible community.
We thank our First Citizen Awards sponsors, including Presenting Sponsors Mountain West Center for Community Excellence and Pioneer Trust Bank, for making this premier Salem event possible.