Citizen of the Year 2026

Chamber Board Director Chris Blechle presented the 2026 Citizen of the Year award to long time Chester resident Neal Adams. Adams is known for the multitude of videos that he makes and places on social media of the construction of the Chester Bridge from 2023 till present. In his presentation, Blechle stated, "with the blessing of Ames Construction,  Adams began showing up almost daily to record the progress of the project. He earned the trust and friendship of the bridge crew and many subcontractors who worked on the project. This level of trust allowed him to gain access behind the scenes and film from many unique and interesting points. During the years of Construction, Adams sometimes rode shotgun with the concrete truck drivers, hauling dirt with the semi-truck drivers, riding in the pilot house if a barge tug and amazingly being hauled to the top of one of the concrete piers in a very small man basket attached to the boom of a tower crane." Blechle continued. "Neal Adams was on the job site in all kinds if weather, rain, snow, extreme heat and cold, day and night, to record all the milestones of the projects.  He then spent many hours on the computer, assembling the footage into amazing videos which were then shared to social media and other outlets. The videos have been viewed millions of times by individuals across the country and the world." Blechle completed the presentation of the award by stating that all of Adams' efforts have been done on a completely volunteer basis.