Enterprise Chamber volunteer award named for Fuentes

A longtime volunteer and civic leader was recognized for her service to the community as outgoing Chamber of Commerce Chairman Robbin Thompson announced the volunteer of the year award will be named in her honor.
As his last act before turning the chamber’s reins over to Neal Brown, Thompson announced from this year forward, the top volunteer award will be named the Bea Fuentes Volunteer of the Year Award in honor of the late civic leader Bea Fuentes, who died four days earlier after a battle with cancer.
“A woman who exemplified Enterprise,” is how Enterprise Mayor Kenneth Boswell described Fuentes. “With her positive attitude, she served as an example of what we all can be.”
In making the announcement, Thompson noted Fuentes earned last year’s Leading the Charge Award, which is given to an outstanding chamber board member for their ability and leadership in placing the chamber in the forefront of the community. In 2007, she was honored as the chamber’s volunteer of the year.
Fuentes moved to Enterprise nearly 50 years ago as a military wife with two children. A third child was born at Fort Rucker. Her husband retired from the military after 24 years of service and she retired from the Enterprise City School System after 24 years.
Following her retirement, Fuentes devoted her time to her church and community. She was a member of St. John’s Catholic Church and was a member of the OSCAR Club, the Wiregrass Christian Women’s Club, the Pilot Club of Daleville and Enterprise Civitan Club.
Fuentes served as chairman of the Alabama-West Florida Junior Civitan, president of the Coffee County Retired Educators and AARP. She also served on the board of directors for the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, Family Services and the Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center. Fuentes served as a volunteer for the Pea River Historical Society, Dayspring Hospice and the Senior Circle office.
“Bea has been a leader in many ways for the chamber,” Enterprise Chamber of Commerce President Phil Thomas said Tuesday. “As the chairperson of the retiree committee, she organized events such as the retiree Picnic in the Park and the Retiree “Getting To Know Enterprise” Fair. “She was also the chairperson of our annual membership drive last year,” Thomas said. “If there was a job to do, we knew we could always count on Bea.”
The OSCAR Club is an organization of Enterprise women who have been selected as the city’s Woman of the Year for outstanding contributions of service to their community. Fuentes was a member of that club as the 2000 Woman of the Year.
Fuentes served on the parish council, on the church finance committee and as a eucharistic minister. She was a past president of the ladies guild and of the The Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women Dothan Deanery.
“We’ve lost a very special person,” Thompson said. “She was one of those people you could always count on.”