Merritt named top chamber volunteer

SANDPOINT — The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce honors Barb Merritt as April’s Volunteer of the Month for her service to our community. Barb is a full-time volunteer with a passion for making a difference which runs through every vein in her body.

Barb was born in Pocatello, lived in Sandpoint as a child, and relocated back to Sandpoint in 1996 after spending much of her life in California working in the title insurance industry. Since moving back to Sandpoint, she has found a calling in doing more than title insurance work by volunteering a majority of her time with many local organizations, including the Chamber Ambassador program and the Winter Special Olympics.

She also is a longtime volunteer for Kinderhaven, Habitat For Humanity, Bird Aviation Museum, Women Honoring Women, Panhandle Animal Shelter, Lost in the ’50s, Friends of Memorial Field and Children’s Healing Hospital.

In October 2011, Barb was given the Community Star award from Panhandle State Bank in recognition of her volunteer work.

“Barb has touch so many lives and has made an incredible difference. I can’t think of anyone who deserves this honor more than she,” Sandpoint Mayor Marsha Ogilvie said of Merritt after she was received the Community Star award.