CREDC official, Camas senior win Marshall leadership awards

Max Ault is the 2017 recipient of the General George C. Marshall Public Leadership Award while Sophie Muro, a Camas High School senior, is the Youth Leadership Award recipient.

The Fort Vancouver National Trust announced the awards Wednesday in a ceremony at the Providence Academy.

The event featured an address by Washington Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib.

Ault, the 28th recipient of the award, is vice president and director of business development for the Columbia River Economic Development Council.

In a letter of recommendation, CREDC President Mike Bomar wrote: “Max plays a critical role in our organization and in economic vitality for Clark County. Beyond his work at the CREDC, Max participates in various civic and professional growth efforts. His passion for helping others has resulted in changing lives for the better and has built him a network of many of the community’s most respected leaders. He is respected and admired by his colleagues and is a key member of a very hardworking team that takes their mission, but not themselves, very seriously.”

The award includes a trip to Lexington, Va., to tour the Marshall Foundation, and to Colonial Williamsburg and Washington, D.C. Ault will also participate in the Leadership Clark County program.

The youth award is presented to a Clark County high school student who demonstrates leadership, takes a stand for the rights of others, serves as a role model and shows initiative and motivates others to become involved.

Muro was recognized for these qualities by Kris Henriksen, program coordinator for Clark County Community Services: “I truly find Sophie Muro to personify all the marvelous qualities in young people: leader, helper, role model, change agent, and historian. You could not ask for a better example of a younger person not waiting until they are an adult to positively impact their community in such an array of ways.”

The Youth Leadership Award includes a $2,500 college scholarship. Muro will participate as an intern in the Fort Vancouver National Trust’s Celebrate Freedom programs office.