Orrville Area Chamber holds awards dinner
Orrville Mayor Dave Handwerk, left, presents the Paul L. Powell Citizen of the Year recipient Jim Duxbury with a key to the city at the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner.
The Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors presented a new format for the annual Celebration of Community Awards Dinner on Tuesday, June 21. The Chevy Network and Serpentini Orrville sponsored the event attended by nearly 150 guests at the Gish Event Barn in Rittman.
The evening kicked off with an outdoor reception featuring local spirits and entertainment by guitarist Chad Hoffman.
The awards ceremony was held prior to dinner. Beth Gaubatz, OACC board member, served as mistress of ceremonies.
Mayor Dave Handwerk recognized Jim Duxbury as the 57th recipient of the Paul L. Powell Citizen of the Year and presented him with a key to the city of Orrville.
Duxbury acknowledged the Orrville High School Earth Science Club students for inspiring him and gave thanks to his wife, Amy, for her patience with him along the way.
The Worthy Works Award was presented to Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio by Melanie Garcia, executive director of Wayne County Community Foundation. The award included a $1,000 grant to assist the organization in pursuing its mission and was received by Tyler Adams, director of corporate partnerships, and Jan Maggard, program manager.
“We are so happy to be working with Orrville and Wayne County to better prepare students for their roles as the future leaders of the local business community,” Adams said.
The Dr. Andrew Naumoff Healthy Habits Champion Award was presented to Wendell and Phyllis Hostetler to recognize their life-long commitment to healthy living, healthy choices and living with good habits personally and publicly. Dave Speicher, supervisor at Aultman Orrville Sports & Wellness, presented the award on behalf of the Growing Healthy Habits Community Coalition.
OACC board members Heather Ogi and Joe Kennedy recognized Jarrett and The Will-Burt Company as finalists for the 2021 Business Impact Award. The award was established to recognize an OACC member business for outstanding contributions to the community in the past year. The intent of the award is to recognize businesses that are making the community a great place to work and live.
The Will-Burt Company was announced as the winner of the Business Impact Award for its employee owners’ commitment in 2021 to the Christian Children’s Home of Ohio and American Heart Association, Goodwill of Wayne and Holmes Counties, and Orrville Salvation Army.
In addition to giving back to the community, WB is committed to helping its employee owners learn, grow and thrive through The Will-Burt Academy. Employees involved in the inaugural Class of 2021 spent time cross-training in other departments and attended internal senior leadership courses and external educational programs with tuition paid by the company.
“I am immensely proud to say I work for an organization that is committed to giving back to the community and creating opportunities for its employees to grow,” said Michael Hart, director of human resources at Will-Burt.
Richard Lewin, Will-Burt CEO and president, accepted the award on behalf of the company.
Commendations were presented to each of the award recipients from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, U.S. Congressman Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Ohio Sen. Kristina Roegner and Ohio Rep. Scott Wiggam.
OACC board chair Kristin Endsley acknowledged Lori Reinbolt for service as chamber president and CEO for the past nine years. Wiggam presented Reinbolt with a proclamation from the Ohio House of Representatives in recognition of her leadership. Reinbolt will retire from the chamber in July.
A farm-to-table themed dinner was catered by Buehler’s Fresh Foods. Gerber’s Farm Fresh Chicken was featured with locally sourced beef, seasonal vegetables and salads. Lavender centerpieces, sourced from Lavender Trails in Orrville, were taken home by one guest at each table. Guests also had cookies from Michael’s Bakery and other sweets provided by Buehler’s.
The evening celebration concluded with conversation and yard games.
Black Circle sponsors for the event were The Will-Burt Company and McElroy Packaging, and additional event sponsors included Gerber’s Poultry, Bowman Beverage, The YMCA of Wayne County, Spherion Mid-Ohio, Redwood Apartment Homes, and Crossbridge Marketing and Media.
Table Sponsors included Aultman Orrville Hospital, Growing Healthy Habits, Jarrett, The Commercial & Savings Bank, the University of Akron Wayne College and Wayne County Schools Career Center.
The Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce is a resource for the business community. Learn more by visiting www.orrvillechamber.com.