GAMBIER — Eleven awards encompassing 30 nominees went to their worthy recipients Friday evening inside the Kenyon Athletic Center during the Knox County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner and Award Ceremony.
A total of 659 chamber members and guests attended, resulting once again in what Chamber Executive Director Carol Grubaugh calls the organization’s “signature event.” Chamber highlights for 2019 included 45 new members, bringing the organization’s current total to 436. There were 36 ribbon cuttings for new businesses, said executive board past chair Cindy Cunningham.
Introducing Buchwald Wright was last year’s Lifetime Achievement winner, attorney Kim Rose of Critchfield, Critchfield & Johnston Ltd. He said her family’s monetary contributions in donating millions of dollars to higher education building projects, overall downtown revitalization and public amenities such as Ariel-Foundation Park over the years, has set her apart within a community that is full of giving, caring individuals.
Buchwald Wright’s giving ways have made life better for all Knox County residents and visitors, Rose offered. He spoke about Ariel Arena at Mount Vernon Nazarene University as but one example of Wright family philanthropy, which includes Buchwald Wright’s four children. Elementary students from Mount Vernon City Schools who are invited to play at Ariel Arena can see that being within a university environment “is an achievable goal,” Kim offered.
Buchwald Wright, speaking briefly at the podium, said there are far more projects ahead and looks forward to working with as many community stakeholders as possible, which made the award coming now a bit of a surprise.
Buchwald Wright noted that she is “only 65,” adding, “and I feel like I have a few good years left. So this is a little bit early.”
Buchwald Wright’s parents, Jim and Maureen Buchwald, are previous lifetime achievement award recipients.
The Judy Klavins Ambassador of the Year Award went to Paul McNeal, coordinator of development for MVNU. The Ambassador award goes to a person selected by Chamber staff based on his or her volunteerism and attendance at events. McNeal was praised for helping organize events such as the Chamber’s new offices re-location to the CA & C Railroad Depot last summer. He was also cited for his ability to “bring people together.”
The other nine awards each had three nominees under consideration. The Environmental Sustainability Award winner was Fredericktown Schools for its recycling project led by School Resource Officer Ronny Flynn. He led a district-wide competition during which students brought in caps and lids from plastic bottles and containers — 1,250 pounds worth, taken to Green Tree Plastics in Indiana and exchanged for four 8-foot benches.
The Heart Award, received for achievement in architectural design, went to the Knox County Memorial Building. Former Memorial Building Executive Director Sara Lynn Kerr thanked her board of directors, Knox County and its county commissioners, who own the building, for engaging in a project the past several years that has seen the four-floor facility undergo substantial renovation. It includes a new sound and lights system for a theatrical production. Substantial funding came from the Ariel Foundation.
The Quality of Life Award winner was United Way of Knox County, which has raised more than $20 million since 1951 to raise the quality of life in Knox County by partnering with other agencies to bring much-needed programming to the area, such as education, financial assistance and health efforts.
The Volunteer of the Year Award went to Heather Brayshaw, who served the past year as chair of Main Street Mount Vernon. She was cited for being instrumental in working with other community leaders in just eight weeks to make the 2019 Dan Emmett Music & Arts Festival happen.
The Investor of the Year Award recipient was Knox Community Hospital. KCH has provided the community with a substantial number of new hospital services in recent years, including bariatric medicine, home health services, endocrinology and gastroenterology.
The Women in Business Leadership Award winner was Denise Conway, owner of Conway’s Eastside Pharmacy, whose recent accomplishments include opening Conway’s Danville Pharmacy and thus removing “health service desert” status for the area. The Entrepreneur Spirit Award went to Stein Hospitality for accomplishing major connections with other businesses and entities resulting in more than $40,000 raised for local charities.
The small Business of the Year Award winner was Murray, Rauzi, Kidwell & Cunningham, a small law firm with decades of attorney experience working with small businesses. The Business of the Year Award went to Kokosing Construction of Fredericktown. It has completed major construction projects in 10 states, and received another award for their work on the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge replacement in Cincinnati.
