Karen Taylor, executive vice president of consumer banking at Boone County National Bank, was named the Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
Taylor received the award at the 105th annual meeting and awards banquet on June 2 at the Hilton Garden Inn.
Lynda Baumgartner, study abroad coordinator for Stephens College, wrote in her nomination of Taylor that “Karen is all about change for the better. She is a visionary whose leadership skills in the end create a better community for all who live, work and play in Columbia.”
Fellow nominator Greg Steinhoff, executive vice president and director of sales at BCNB, wrote: “When she recognizes an opportunity to make something right, to help somebody reach their potential or to make something better, she doesn’t turn her head and walk away; she seizes the moment. She is inspired, then she inspires. Time after time, the results are extraordinary.”
Taylor’s involvement and leadership with local organizations, in particular the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and Women’s Network, is extensive. She won the Women’s Network ATHENA Award in 2004.
Outside of the Chamber, Taylor has organized three local initiatives: Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and Keep Columbia Safe.
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library program provides newborn babies in Columbia with a free book every month until age 5.
The Outstanding Citizen Award winners are nominated by their peers and selected by a special committee of the Chamber of Commerce.
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