Distinguished Alumni Award

Distinguished Alumni Award Information

The Alumni Award Program started in 2005 through the efforts of the Johnson Creek Education Foundation and the Johnson Creek Board of Education. The purpose of the award program is to identify and recognize outstanding achievements of alumni of hte Johnson Creek School District. It honors these individuals as role models for our students and encourages them to broaden their horizons and increase their commitment to future success.

The Nomination Process:

Anyone can nominate a person for Distinguished Alumnus.
Nominations must describe how the candidate has distinguished him/herself in a field of knowledge/scholarship, endeavor or a lifetime achievement.
Nomination forms will be available in the Johnson Creek District Office or on this page below.
The deadline for submission is April 1.

The Nominee:

Must be a graduate of Johnson Creek High School.
He or she must be out of school a minimum of ten years.
The nominee cannot be a current employee, school board member, committee member, or relative of the above at the time of nomination or receipt of the award.
The recipient must be available to personally receive his/her award at commencement ceremonies.

The Award:

The final selection will be made by a committee of the Johnson Creek Education Foundation comprised of the High School Principal, the Senior Class Advisors, the Student Council President, the Senior Class President and 2 members from the Education Foundation.
There will be no more than one award per year.
The award will be presented to the recipient at graduation.
Announcements/publicity of the award and recipient will be provided to area media, both here and in the area identified by the recipient.

Alumni of the Year Nomination Form

Past Alumni Award Recipients

Chris Otto

2023

Christian Otto, a 1986 graduate of Johnson Creek High School, has been selected the Alumnus of the Year for 2023 by the Johnson Creek Education Foundation. After graduation Chris enlisted in the Army. He served his entire duty in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. as a part of the Fifth Engineers as a generator mechanic and Hornet Drive. In 1989, Chris returned home and began working in the concrete business. In 1996 he opened his own business, A-1 Concrete just outside of Johnson Creek. His business now employs 15 people.

The selection committee was impressed by Chris’s dedication to his volunteer work in Romania, British Columbia, and the US. From 2000-2008, Chris took his family to Romania where he started a business that built very small and simple homes for families. They built a school for an orphanage and missionary living quarters. The family lived in Romania for 2 ½ years, while he commuted back and forth between his business in Johnson Creek and his family and volunteer work in Romania. Over 25 times Chris made trips overseas to supervise his many projects including in 2020 when he assisted in the construction of a missionary farm.

In 2009 and again in 2012 a team, under the direction of Chris, poured concrete for the Chilcotin First Nations tribe in British Columbia.

In 2010 and 2022 Chris took on the mentoring of young men attending the Challenge Academy at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.

Locally Chris is involved as a preacher at his church, Summit Harvest, located in Concord.

Chris and his wife live just outside of Johnson Creek. They have 8 children, 4 of which are adopted. Through the years they have had many foster children in their home. In addition, they currently have 4 grandchildren.

Chris states: “I am thankful for the encouragement I received from certain teachers to push myself academically. I also have implemented some of the specific things taught to me into my business practices. When done correctly, almost everything in life, good or bad, can teach you something if you remain humble and teachable.”

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