Anne Miller of Miller & Miller Insurance was announced as the winner of the annual Besserung Award Friday evening at the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce’s 103rd Annual Banquet. The award is often referred to as the New Braunfels outstanding citizen’s award and is designed to honor an individual who is currently providing a significant contribution to the community through their civic activities.
More than 500 community and business leaders attended the banquet to hear the announcement, which recognizes the community betterment activities of the recipient. The name of the winner was kept as a secret until the moment of the presentation.
Miller grew up in New Braunfels, graduating from New Braunfels High School, and has continued to give back to her community ever since. She’s served on numerous boards including the New Braunfels ISD School Board, the NBISD Education Foundation and the Comal County Industrial Finance Board. Additionally, Miller has volunteered in many capacities and roles such as the PTA at her children’s schools, New Braunfels High School Booster Club, Texas Legislative Ladies Club and Braunfels Foundation Trust to name a few.
Most recently, Miller showcased her servant heart and love for New Braunfels as the Chair of the 175th Anniversary of New Braunfels Committee. She spent years gathering the ideal committee members, beginning plans and preparations for the 2020 events starting in 2016.
“Every 25 years the Chamber has the great privilege of putting on the community celebrations,” said Michael Meek, past president of the New Braunfels Chamber, who participated in a video for the award’s announcement. “A key to the success of any 25-year celebration starts with the chairman, you’ve got to have the right person and boy did we choose wisely.”
Miller kicked off 2020 with the Edelweiss Ball and Simultoast with New Braunfels’ sister city, Braunfels, Germany, and was faced with the hard but correct decision to pause future celebrations when the pandemic hit. She successfully led the planned 175th events across the finish line in 2021 including the Sophienburg/175th Anniversary Fourth of July parade and fireworks and the 175th Gala.
The announcement of the Besserung Award winner capped off the evening, but prior to that the banquet program included several award recognitions and the ceremonial passing of the gavel from Outgoing Chair Nathan Manlove of AMMO to the 2022 Chair of the Board Ian Taylor of New Braunfels Utilities.
The award recognitions included the Chamber’s Blue Coat Ambassador program recognizing their new 2021 Senior Blue Coats and Blue Coats and announcing award winners Sylvia Camareno as the Blue Coat of the Year and Joe Timmins as the Senior Blue Coat of the Year.
Chair of the Board Award winners and Honors Hall inductees were recognized next. The Chair of the Board Award honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to the community in a specific field of civic endeavor. No more than six recipients may be named in a calendar year. The 2021 Chair of the Board Award winners were Lilia Marek, Wayne Peters, NBU Employees, Cheryl Fraser, Anne Miller, and Dr. Dorothy Overman.
The Hall of Honor Award recognizes individuals who have participated in civic activities over many years and are at least 50 years of age. A maximum of three recipients may be named in a calendar year and their photograph will be included as a permanent exhibit in the Chamber’s Honors Hall. The 2021 Hall of Honor inductees were Jay Brewer, Benno Engel, and Natalie Rougeux.