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Lauren Biada (Courtesy West Bountiful City)

Winning the "Youth Citizen of the Year" award from West Bountiful City last week was a bittersweet moment for Lauren Biada.

"It's hard to be receiving this award without my dad smiling his big ... smile at me," she said in front of the city council, where her father's seat sat vacant.

George Biada, 66, died late last month. The self-employed man was on a computer-consulting trip in Wyoming, and died of natural causes, city officials said.

Lauren Biada, the Youth City Council mayor and a Youth Court judge, said her father valued being a part of the community and city government.

"We would always talk about how important it is to get involved," she said.

She was herself praised by city officials for her professionalism and organization in leading the youth groups.

George Biada was elected last year and began his term on the city council in January. Before that, he was a member of the planning commission for about two years.

"George is one of a kind; he is very driven," said city administrator Craig Howe, adding Biada could get to the root of problems quickly and didn't like to waste a lot of time.

"Interestingly enough, with all that drive, he was quite a unifier and quite a peacemaker," Howe said.

Mayor Kenneth Romney said Biada was motivated to help the city solve its challenges, whether in dealing with the budget or improvements to the streets.

"He was ready to take on hard issues ... but also very understanding and had a big heart," Romney said.

Romney and Biada were neighbors since Biada and his family moved to West Bountiful about seven years ago.

"I hold him to blame for me running for mayor," Romney said, laughing about a time more than two years ago after Romney was elected to the city council. Biada was already pushing him to run for mayor.

"He will certainly be missed on the council," Romney said.

He said the family has already dealt with the difficulty of losing two of Biada's older daughters to congenital heart failure and cancer in 2007. Biada is survived by his wife and five children.