Manchester Agency named Farmington Chamber Business of the Year

• The Manchester Agency LLC -- Farmers Insurance was named Business of the Year.
• John Byrom of PESCO won the Citizen of the Year award.
• The Farmington Chamber of Commerce presents the awards annually.

As an active, longtime member of the Farmington Chamber of Commerce, Pat Manchester has taken part many times in the process of choosing the winners of the organization’s Business of the Year and Citizen of the Year awards.

“I’m familiar with this award, so I know it’s about what you do for the community, not just what you do in business,” he said.

That made it especially meaningful to Manchester and his wife Rita when Manchester Agency LLC — Farmers Insurance won the 2023 Business of the Year award from the chamber during the organization’s annual banquet on Friday, Feb. 2 at the Farmington Civic Center.

Manchester said the chamber’s recognition of businesses that support nonprofit organizations are a big part of what keeps the community strong. He said he was deeply honored to receive the award.

“I’m still kind of just pinching myself,” he said.

Pat and Rita Hollar-Manchester have been involved in numerous community endeavors over the years  — she’s has worked on behalf of the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office Foundation, while he is a major supporter of the Grace Place Family Health Center in Farmington — but their most significant contribution in recent years may have been the launch of 100 Men/100 Women Who Care, an organization that financially supports a rotating roster of nonprofit organizations in San Juan County.

Pat Manchester said a friend in Texas gave him the idea for the group, and Manchester and his wife decided to start an organization here. Once each quarter, members of the group get together over lunch to hear a presentation from the leader of a preselected nonprofit organization about the group’s work, then the members write a check to donate to that cause.

Manchester said the organization is in its fourth year and has raised $300,000 for a variety of local nonprofit groups, including Inspire HeArt, the Rio del Sol Kiwanis Club and It’s My Very Own Bags of Love.

“All we ask is that they promise to pledge something,” Manchester said, noting there are no membership fees, and any member is free to nominate a nonprofit organization in good financial standing.

The two groups have approximately 30 or 40 folks who participate regularly, he said, and nearly 70 who take part periodically.

John Byrom named Farmington Citizen of the Year

The winner of the chamber’s 2023 Citizen of the Year award was John Byrom, the business development manager at the Process Equipment & Service Co. Inc. Byrom has worked at PESCO since 2016 and is a longtime member of the board of directors at Four Corners Economic Development. He recently rotated off the board at the San Juan Regional Medical Center after serving two terms and also is a supporter of the San Juan Symphony and other cultural organizations.

Byrom said he gets as much out of the community service he performs as what he puts into it.

“I think it’s a positive thing just to have in your life,” he said. “It makes you a happier person, and you wind up leading a better life. I think that’s pretty evident.”

Byrom grew up in Farmington, but he left the Four Corners to go to college at Texas A&M, then worked for Union Carbide in Houston for many years. Eventually tiring of big city life, he returned to Farmington to work for DJ Simmons Inc. before landing at PESCO in 2016.

He said he’s pleased at the changes he’s seen in Farmington in recent years, most notably the $12 million renovation of downtown.

“I think we have one of the most beautiful downtowns in the state now,” he said.

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Byrom also noted the influx of new residents in San Juan County since the COVID-19 pandemic. He encouraged those newcomers to get involved in community service, explaining he thinks they’ll find the experience as rewarding as he has.

“A lot of us can feel like there’s no control over our situation,” he said. “And that can lead to a jaundiced eye or pessimism. But if you look at it as an opportunity to be involved, it helps you appreciate the efforts that are being made and helps you meet the many wonderful people who are out there in the community.”

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 ormeasterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.