Weiser Classic Candy owners receive Elks Distinguished Citizenship Award

The Weiser Elks Lodge No. 1683 presented its Distinguished Citizenship Award to Weiser Classic Candy and co-owners Patrick Nauman and Keith Bryant for their civic involvement and the many community events they support through their business.
 Weiser Elks Quincy Walla and Jerry Barnard presented the award on Wednesday at the candy shop in downtown Weiser. The plaque was signed by the Weiser Elks Lodge and also the national Grand Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
 The annual award is designed to recognize individuals who have contributed in a special way to improving the local community, has contributed voluntary service, and are recognized as being all-around good citizens.
 Walla said Nauman and Bryant were nominated and selected for the award based on their “overall community service and everything they do for local youth.”
 Barnard said the leadership at the Elks Lodge wanted to recognize the two with the special award for the many things they do and their enduring involvement in the community for many years.
 “Patrick and Keith have been civically involved for a long time,” he said.
 The two owners of Weiser Classic Candy are individually involved in a number of organizations in the community as well as the business. The business funded the WCC Entrepreneurial Scholarship this year with the hope of inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
 “We are very honored to have received this recognition by the Weiser Elks. One of our main objectives is to give back to the community and to pay it forward whenever we can,” Nauman said.
 “We work hand in hand with the Elks every year to put on Kids Day during the Fiddle Contest and Festival to provide a fun event for kids of all economic means.”
 The Elks Lodge has helped financially to support the Kids Day in downtown Weiser for the past few years. In 2018, the Elks wrote out a check for $1,000, a donation appreciated by Nauman, who is the Kids Day committee chairman.
 The money is used to buy supplies, prizes and rent equipment for Kids Day. Many nonprofits participate in Kids Day and the Elks donation to underwrite the event allows the nonprofits to keep more of the money they raise instead of having to cover expenses.
 Some of the organizations that have participated in kids day include ROSE Advocates, Miss Western Idaho, Angel Wings, Washington County 4-H, Head Start, Elks, WICAP, and several businesses as well that donate to local charities.
 The Kids Day event brings hundreds of youngsters downtown with their parents downtown during fiddle week to take part in an afternoon of fun activities, such as bounce house, dunk tank, face painting, food and carnival games.
 Barnard, who manages the grants for the Weiser Elks Lodge, said supporting local youth and activities is one of the Elks missions.
 In 2018, the Elks give out about $7,500 in cash grants and even more in in-kind donations, such as the use of lodge facilities and other donations. The funding comes from the National Elks Foundation in the form of gratitude grants that the local lodge applies for every year.