She’d been nominated year after year.

This week, she finally won. 

Former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe has been named Auburn Citizen of the Year.

“This year it just turned out so perfectly, for a couple of reasons,” said Terri Kelsea, president of the Auburn Business Association, which presents the annual award. “It’s, No. 1, our 40th Citizen Year of the Year award, which is very special for Auburn Business Association. And we thought, ‘What better way to celebrate for both ABA and for her?’ Because we knew, finally, she wasn’t going to be in Washington.”

Snowe grew up in Auburn and attended Edward Little High School. She began her public service career in 1973 when she took over her late husband’s seat in the Maine House of Representatives. Auburn voters re-elected her in 1974 and she was elected to the state Senate in 1976. She was elected in 1978 to the U.S. House of Representatives and in 1994 to the U.S. Senate, where she would serve three six-year terms. She retired from the Senate this winter.

Long a favorite in her hometown, she’d been nominated for Citizen of the Year for several years. The winner is traditionally kept secret until the May ceremony, and organizers could never figure out how to get her to the dinner in Auburn without telling her she’d won. And even if they gave in and revealed the secret, they figured, she was always busy with her Senate work in Washington, D.C. 

Soon after Snowe announced her retirement last year, organizers decided the time was right. They didn’t even entertain other nominees.

“She’s just been an outstanding advocate for our local community, small business, for the state of Maine. She has worked endless, tireless hours for the people of Maine,” Kelsea said. “We’re just so proud that she’s from here. We want to say thank you, want to give her that recognition she deserves.”

Ultimately, organizers decided not to keep the honor a secret this year. Although Snowe wasn’t busy in the Senate anymore, she has written a book — “Fighting for Common Ground: How We Can Fix the Stalemate in Congress” — and is slated to go on a book tour in May. To accommodate that schedule, the Auburn Business Association moved the awards dinner from the beginning of May to May 30.

The event’s organizers also moved the dinner to the Ramada Conference Center in Lewiston, one of the few places in Lewiston-Auburn large enough to hold the 460 people they expect to attend.

“We’re very proud . . . to honor one of ours that really made it, that was really successful in her career,” Kelsea said.

Snowe said she feels “profoundly honored” to be named Citizen of the Year.

“So much of my life and whatever I have been able to achieve is attributable to the strength, values and support that surrounded me throughout my early years growing up in Auburn, where I also began my 40-year journey in public service,” she said in a statement. “It has been my greatest privilege to represent the people of Auburn in each and every elective office I have served — from the State House to the U.S. House and Senate. It is to my hometown that I owe an everlasting debt of gratitude and appreciation — so to receive this recognition means more than words can express.”

The awards dinner will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30, at the Ramada Conference Center. Tickets are $50 per person and sponsorships will be available.

Registration is available online at the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce’s website.

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