POST FALLS - Scot Haug has seen a lot during his 29 years of police work, and can now add being Post Falls Citizen of the Year to that list.

Haug, who worked his way through the Post Falls Police ranks and became chief six years ago, received the award during Thursday night's chamber of commerce annual banquet attended by more than 200 people at Red Lion Templin's Hotel.

The Post Falls Citizen of the Year award is the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm in awe," Haug said in an interview after receiving the award. "I have an exceptional team that make my job great and this possible. I also want to thank my family for putting up with a lot of late shifts."

Under Haug, PFPD has become one of the most proactive police agencies in the country in terms of embracing technology to solve crime, increasing efficiency and communicating with the public.

He has organized multiple virtual ridealongs in the past year on Facebook and Twitter to educate the public on what officers face each day on the streets. The ridealongs serve as a forum for residents to ask questions.

"Technology is really a passion for me," Haug said in an earlier interview with The Press. "I enjoy working with it and think it's the wave of the future in law enforcement."

Haug is known to many residents as being accessible and approachable.

"It's a challenge to separate the professional and personal attributes of this year's (Citizen of the Year) recipient as integrity is key to both," said Pam Houser, chamber of commerce CEO. "The example they set has elevated the community as well as everyone they come in contact with.

"Most importantly, this year's recipient is a man of good character with a big heart for this community and our citizens of all ages."

Haug is a 2010 graduate of the chamber of commerce's River City Leadership Academy and a member of the Post Falls Community Volunteers, his homeowners association and water district board.

He's a graduate of the FBI National Academy and served as president of the Montana-Idaho Chapter of the FBI National Associates.

Haug has been an Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training instructor since 1992 and served as the primary arrest techniques and handcuffing instructor at North Idaho College for nearly 10 years.

The chamber of commerce's other award winners included Debra Wunderlich as Volunteer of the Year and Garden Plaza as Business of the Year.

Wunderlich has served as the chairwoman of the Business, Education and Workforce Development Committee for the past seven years. The committee organizes multiple activities that bring business and education together each year.

The committee helped organize the annual Reverse Job Fair, in which more than 160 business leaders volunteer to interview 200 high school seniors about the occupation of their choice. Last spring, 15 seniors were awarded $9,000 in scholarships at the event.

Wunderlich also recently served on the Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency board.

Garden Plaza, in just five years in Post Falls, has become a community partner by donating to nonprofits and programs, including Meals on Wheels, area senior enters and Hospice of North Idaho. Its leaders serve on local nonprofit boards.

Mayor Ron Jacobson, the Post Falls Food Bank, senior center and Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County also presented awards during the banquet.

* Mayor Awards - Windermere Realty, which has raised $794,009.82 for local charities and those in need since 1996, earned the Community Service Award for business. Randy Oaks, who has assisted in several fundraisers and serves with the senior center, food bank and chamber of commerce, received the individual Community Service Award.

"He's made quiet, yet gigantic contributions," Jacobson said.

* Food Bank - Ralph Meyer, who organized Calvary Lutheran Church's Giving Garden to provide food for those in need, was named Volunteer of the Year. The garden has raised an average of 16,000 pounds per year of fresh produce for the past six years. Stan-Craft Boat Co., which hosts a growing annual turkey drive called "Give Hunger the Bird," was named Business of the Year.

* Senior Center - Richard and Rena Hawley, who have contributed more than 18,000 volunteer hours, were named Volunteers of the Year. The Walmart near the state line, which sponsored a mobile food bank last year and plans to do so again this year, was named Business of the Year.

* Boys and Girls Club - Dani Zibell-Wolfe, who assists participants in the club's Youth of the Year program, among other events, was named Volunteer of the Year. Century Publishing, which provides printing services to the club, was named Business of the Year.