RDA Announces 2020 Sandy Keith Award Winners

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The late Gus Chafoulias and Terry Spaeth were awarded with the 2020 Rochester Downtown Alliance's Sandy Keith Downtown Impact award.

“We are honored to be able to recognize two individuals who have made outstanding
contributions to downtown Rochester in private and public sector,” said Holly Masek, RDA executive director. “Downtown would look very different today were it not for the vision and follow through of the 2020 Sandy Keith Award Winners.”

The Sandy Keith Downtown Impact Award is presented to a person or group whose efforts have made or are making a substantal impact on the downtown community.

Chafoulias, the former chairman of Titan Development, dedicated his career to the betterment of downtown Rochester, and his vision can be seen in the built environment all around the downtown area including the Galleria at University Square, H-3, the Hilton hotel and many other projects. Chafoulias recieved over a dozen nominations for the award.

“Gus was fully committed to the business community of Rochester. He put forth all his
resources to make downtown a thriving area, knew so many people by name, and made an effort to make them feel important,” said Travis Yager of Chocolaterie Stam.

Terry Spaeth, assistant city administrator, will be retiring in april 2021 from City government after 34 and a half years of public service. Spaeth has been a long-time public servant in Rochester City Administration and has been a champion for supporting new projects and initiatives that contribute to downtown's development and success including the creation of downtown's special service district.

“Terry has had a tremendous impact in shaping Downtown Rochester,” said Josh Johnsen, City of Rochester project manager special initiatives and colleague of Terry’s. “For decades, Terry has always tried to see the perspective of the developer while maintaining the goals that were desired to be achieved by the City for both the Downtown and the community. This is a difficult balancing act that he has perfected over the years.”

The RDA announced the recipients at its February 17th Board of Directors meeting after a public nomination process and review by an internal committee of the RDA Board of Directors.Videos from the RDA honoring Chafoulias and Spaeth's Sandy Keith Awards can be seen below:

Past Sandy Keith Award recipients include Keith himself in 2017 and Café Steam and
then-mayor Ardell Brede in 2018.