The Idaho Falls City Council opened its January meeting with the Mayor’s Choice Awards, presenting five community honors to volunteer groups, local service organizations and refugee sponsors.

The council recognized a group of Idaho Falls High School parents and volunteers who raised money and contributed labor to create the Frontier Fields Complex, a multi‑sport facility described by the presenter as including two soccer fields, two football fields, two baseball fields, two softball fields and eight tennis courts. Trent Johnson, who identified himself as a baseball coach, told the council the effort took “four to six years” and called the complex “a community asset” created through broad local support.

David and Eloise Snell received the Outstanding Community Members Award for their work founding and leading the Idaho Falls African American Alliance. The council said the alliance, active since 2006, has raised funds for scholarships and local charities and assists with cultural awareness and integration. David Snell described the alliance’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. fundraising banquet and invited the public to attend.

JustServe — a national volunteer‑matching platform — and local volunteer Susan Stuckey were honored with the Outstanding Community Service Award. The council cited 600 volunteers contributing roughly 1,300 hours to parks and recreation projects in 2024 and local JustServe projects such as Valentine deliveries to seniors. Stuckey outlined ongoing volunteer efforts and encouraged residents to sign up through JustServe’s website.

The Idaho Falls Music Club received the Outstanding Community Enrichment Award. Current club president Lindsay Bingham described the club’s long history (founded in 1912), music festivals and scholarship program, noting the club awarded more than $15,000 in scholarships last year and runs student festivals and auditions.

The final award, Outstanding Community Spirit, went to Idaho Falls Bridge Builders, which the council praised for sponsoring Afghan pilots and resettling refugee families through Operation Allies Welcome and Uniting for Ukraine programs. A council speaker said Bridge Builders has received around $80,000 in local donations that supported resettlement efforts and integration services, and noted the organization’s shift from resettlement to integration work, including education and job support for arriving spouses.

Council members emphasized the volunteer nature of the work honored and thanked businesses, schools and many individual volunteers who contributed. The award presentations concluded with recipients encouraging attendance at upcoming community events: the Snells’ MLK banquet, JustServe volunteer opportunities, and the Music Club’s scholarship auditions and festival events.

The council recessed briefly after the presentations and then moved on to the remainder of the agenda.