Hundreds gathered Thursday at the Pioneer Pavilion in downtown Puyallup to celebrate the winners of the 2013 Puyallup Sumner Chamber “Rising Star” annual awards breakfast, which gave thanks to the tireless work of those supporting the military and business communities.

“It was interesting how passionate our (awards) committee was in selecting recipients who have really done tangible contributions to the community,” said Shelly Schlumpf, president and chief executive officer of the chamber.

Taking home the John Porter Memorial — one of the top awards recognizing commitment and service to the community and the chamber — was John Rader, operations manager for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Sumner and this year’s elected chairman of the chamber’s board of directors.

“John takes it to the next degree,” Schlumpf said. “He is a great community resource.”

During the past several years Rader has helped to turn Green Mountain Coffee Roasters into a regular contributor of volunteerism and financial support to the community. In 2011, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters hired the Pomegranate Center to design a central gathering place in downtown Sumner along East Main, in the alleyway adjacent to Berryland Cafe.

“Our staff also did a number of volunteer hours at the Sumner Arts Festival this past year,” Rader said.

Because of its strong networking across Puyallup and Sumner, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters as a whole picked up the Young Professional/Organization award.

Central to that effort was Green Mountain Coffee Roasters human resources assistant Sarah Knap who, as part of the chamber’s Leadership Institute program, helped to spearhead the inaugural peanut butter drive competition between the cities of Sumner and Puyallup.

Before Rader was presented the two respective awards, past chairman Rod Stephens passed on the gavel to Rader, placing him as the 2013 chairman of the chamber board of directors.

“I call John Rader the king of Kurig,” Stephens said. “People at his plant affectionately refer to him as Darth Rader. Ever since John has been on the board, he has worked tirelessly. Up until 2012 John lived in Redmond but he made sure to make it to every board meeting.”

After Rader took the gavel from Stephens, he thanked the past chairman, jokingly, for “herding a bunch of cats into a successful term of office.”

Rader said he promises to continue forward the commitment set forth by Stephens to make the chamber the connector between businesses, education and community.

“I look forward to the coming year,” Rader said. “We shall celebrate success.”

To start off the banquet the Association of the United States Army presented a series of awards commemorating those individuals and businesses who have contributed to the AUSA cause over the past year.

Awards comprised Soldier of the Year, Military Spouse of the Year, Small Business Contributor, Corporate Contributor of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year,  and Member of the Year.

Eric Kantor of Strategic Advantage, a retired U.S. Army Veteran, received Member of the Year for his work with AUSA in donating care packages to soldiers upon their return from Afghanistan. Kantor also received Volunteer of the Year from the chamber for his contributions to the AUSA.

Kimberly J. Harris, president and chief executive office of Puget Sound Energy, was the keynote speaker and spoke about the economic development the agency has implemented in the region through energy savings for PSE customers and investments in infrastructure.

“Our mission is to be safe, dependable and efficient,” Harris said.

Other chamber award winners included the IKEA Distribution Center in Frederickson for the Best Company to Work For award and Joshua Wilson, receiving the Young Professionals/Individual award.

Greg Miller, operations warehouse manager at IKEA, said that supporting a work/life balance for employees at the company is very important.

“IKEA’s vision is to create a better everyday life for co-workers and customers in the community,” Miller said.

The distribution center employees 106 people, including administrative staff.

Wilson, the office manager at Chase Construction North West, Inc., was recognized for his efforts to help Chase reach out into the community and beyond. For example, Wilson helps in the company’s endeavor to grow a mission project in the village of Putti, Uganda.

“Giving back is at the center of everything we do,” Wilson said.

Reporter Andrew Fickes can be reached at 253-552-7001 or by email at andrew.fickes@puyallupherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @herald_andrew.