Shirley Collingwood - Distinguished Citizen

Our community's distinguished citizen of the year, Shirley Collingwood

By Todd Peterson
Springfield Beacon

"What a wonderful surprise," said Shirley Collingwood about being named Distinguished Citizen of the Year at the recent Chamber of Commerce annual awards dinner. "And what a great honor to be the first woman to be chosen for the award!"

On the evening of the dinner, Shirley had gone to the event by herself. Her husband, Ed, who usually would have been with her, stayed home. What Shirley didn’t know was that Ed had been informed earlier about the award and planned to be part of his wife’s “surprise." After she left home, Ed dressed in a suit and headed to LCC for the award presentation.

"I didn't have a clue," said Shirley. When John Lively, last year's recipient, was giving clues about the person to be chosen, "I was sitting there trying to guess who it was. When he said the person had worked for Wood Products Credit Union, I finally figured it out. I couldn't believe it!" Just as Shirley's name was being called, she saw Ed coming through the doorway and walking toward the stage with a bouquet of red roses for her.

To a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd, Shirley met Ed at the stage and received a kiss and hug from her husband. Overwhelmed with tears of joy, she expressed words of gratitude for the award to the audience of over 300 people.

Interviewed a week after the event, Shirley said, "I still can hardly believe it . . . to be the first woman to receive the award, when I know so many other women in Springfield who could well have been chosen."

Shirley Collingwood was given the Distinguished Citizen award for her many years of community involvement in Springfield and her extraordinary service to the Chamber of Commerce.

Her involvement with the Chamber began in 1983 when she became the representative to the Chamber Greeters while working for Wood Products Credit Union (Northwest Community). Since joining Greeters, "it has been my baby," said Shirley. "I love the people and really enjoy our weekly meetings."

Shirley served as chairperson of Greeters in 1987 and co-chaired with John Woodrow in 2000. She was involved in the 1985 Greeters State Convention held in Springfield and was chairperson when the convention returned to our community in 2001.

“Greeters has had its ups and downs over the years but I give Shirley credit for turning the organization around,” said Dan Egan, Executive Director of the Chamber. “Her great work has helped Greeters thrive today with over 100 people often attending their weekly meetings.”

Shirley has been the “heart” of the organization for nearly 25 years. For anyone who has ever attended a Greeters breakfast, she’s well-recognized for her warm smile and hugs (and often kisses on the cheek) as she greets businesspeople attending the meetings.

In addition to her Greeters involvement, Shirley Collingwood has worked on the silent auction portion of the Tailgate Auctions since the beginning of the annual event co-sponsored by the Springfield Chamber.

Other community projects Shirley has been involved in include serving as “Bake-Off” chair for the Filbert Festival for five years. And together with Ed, she has worked on many of Springfield’s annual Christmas Parades. They’ve also cooked breakfast for people at the American Cancer Society’s “Relay of Life” for five years (Shirley is a cancer survivor herself). And, when McKenzie-Willamette Hospital had their annual “Mash Bash”, Shirley and Ed coordinated the USO Show for seven years.

Today, Shirley serves as president of the Friendship Club, a group of over 375 women in the area. She’s also active in her church and a member of Beta Sigma Phi, a women’s social and cultural sorority.

At the age of 72, Shirley Collingwood is an energetic, enthusiastic woman who loves people and is passionate about life. She loves to paint, fish, hunt (she cooks for the hunters), camp, and travel with her husband. “My marriage to Ed has been the most wonderful success of my life,” she said.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Shirley moved to Oregon in 1955. She met Ed in Albany in 1972 when they both worked for BiMart. They were married in 1976 and moved to their current home in Springfield in 1978. With three grown children, two adult stepchildren, eleven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, Shirley and Ed have an active family life.

After working nearly nine years for Wood Products Credit Union, Shirley joined with Sharon Mills to create their own business, “Coffee, Tea, & Things”. They ran the business located at the corner of Gateway and Harlow Road from 1987 to 1992. Shirley then went to work for six years as a professional cake decorator for the Safeway near her home.

Now “retired”, the Collingwood’s so enjoy working together that they started Transcend Marketing International in 2005, an on-line networking business at www.madebig.com.

“Shirley Collingwood’s faith in the future helped us get through some tough times in Springfield,” said Dan Egan. “She’s a great example of how one caring person doing her best has made a big difference to the life and growth of our community.”