The Logan County Chamber of Commerce presented eight awards at their annual Stars In Business Night of Recognition on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the Holland Theatre. Pictured, from the left, are: Ethan Bunce (Bellefontaine Grace Church); Jim Reed; Tammy Gump; Bethany Watts; Jason Ramsey, Corey Dodds, Dawson Kingrey and Micah Burkholder (Sunlight Windows & Exteriors); Ann and Hayden Stanley (Royce Industries); Dave Link (Link Construction Group) and Jeremy Hankins. (LOGAN COUNTY CHAMBER PHOTO)
To highlight the people and companies working to improve their community, the Logan County Chamber of Commerce hosted their 12th annual Stars In Business Night of Recognition Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the Holland Theatre. Eight awards were handed out.
Following opening remarks, Ben Vollrath, chamber president, began the ceremony by presenting the Max Evans Tourism Award to Jim Reed with Spend-A-Day Marina. The 2022 recipient, Kris Swisher, introduced Reed as an “active supporter” of the area.
“We have promoted Logan County and Indian Lake as a place to visit,” Reed said. “Does that include Bellefontaine? Yes, because sometimes it rains at the lake.”
The second award — the nonprofit of the year — went to Bellefontaine Grace Church. Ethan Bunce, the church’s pastoral elder, accepted the plaque.
Other winners Wednesday night were:
- Bethany Watts—Young Professional of the Year
- Royce Industries—Emerging Business of the Year
- Sunlight Windows & Exteriors—Small Business of the Year
- Jeremy Hankins—Entrepreneur of the Year
- Link Construction Group—Integrity in Business Award
- Tammy Gump—Richard J. Rupp Leadership Award
Before the ceremony, Vollrath gave the audience a quick overview of the work the chamber is doing. He spoke about his team and their office on Main Street, which recently underwent a renovation. Vollrath encouraged the community to stop by and see the changes they’d made.
He then updated attendees on the chamber’s work over the past year. Their main areas of focus are:
• Connect & Educate —56 new members (over 515 total); over 1,500 people participating in events; their largest event yet, with more than 340 people attending the most recent Pursuit of Excellence presentation; 22 participants and 20+ volunteers in the 2023-24 Leadership Logan County class; Monthly legislative impact meetings; 55 teams at the annual golf outing; First Thursdays countywide.
• Market —$76k of Chamber Choice Checks in 2022 and $18k YTD 2023; Business of the Month; 24 ribbon cuttings so far this year; fourth annual Best of Logan County awards; Ice Cream Trail (13 stops), with over 100 participants, and the Pizza Bracket, which included 15 restaurants
• Advocate — $1M in Brownfield grants approved; Friends Office Solutions—2 percent savings for 34 businesses; Safety Council—three new members for FY24; SOCA Health Plan—20 small business participants; Four new benefits added: community energy advisors, sustainability program, Dolr (student loan repayment) and Hunter Consulting.
• Advance — Employ – Enlist – Enroll Initiative; Natural Gas EnergizeOhio legislation; over 250 PeakFiber customers; two new Cobblestone hotels; Airport Economic Impact Study; Japan business trip; hosted Japanese Grassroots Summit attendees; SiteOhio authentication.
Next, executive board chairman Justin Dinovo went over updates to the 22-member board of directors. He highlighted two retiring members—Tom Denbow and Phil Altstaetter—and thanked them for their service. Elizabeth Long and Christy Myers will fill their seats. In addition, Layne Coleman will take Keith Strickland’s place.
Dinovo, with Citizens Federal Savings & Loan, has also decided to step down. He will be replaced by David Willoby (Liberty National Bank).
“I was born and raised in this community,” Dinovo said, “but being on the board opened my eyes to things going on around here.”
Find out more about the Logan County Chamber of Commerce by visiting their website at logancountyohio.com.