ASHLAND – Two individuals and one area business were recognized for their efforts during the annual Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce 2016 annual meeting Friday.
Dr. Lucille Ford, a former professor and vice president at Ashland University , was given the third annual Jim Lingenfelter Service Award, which is given to an individual who emulates the servant leadership characteristics of Lingenfelter who passed away in 2014.
“I’m so very honored that I had the privilege to know Jim well and his concept of team really lives on,” Ford said.
Simonson Construction, represented by project manager Shaw Rader, was awarded the business Spirit of the Chamber award.
“Shaw is not a guy who likes to stand at the microphone and that’s okay. But I’ll tell you what. I don’t know anybody that in the past year has given as much of his own time and energy to serve the Chamber,” Chamber Board President Aaron Bates said after presenting the award to Rader.
Sandy Burkholder was given the individual Spirit of the Chamber award.
“(Burkholder) has a serving heart for our community and supports local business,” Jim Cutright, executive director of the Ashland County Community Foundation, said while introducing Burkholder. “Her can-do attitude is a breath of fresh air and she knows how to get the job done.”
Cutright was also the keynote speaker for the event, speaking on how business partnerships can help the whole business community. Cutright shared a quote by Sir Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it’s because I have stood on the shoulders of giants,” as a photo of Cutright standing next to Ford, his predecessor at the ACCF, appeared on the screen. “You may think you know who the giant is in that photo but you’d be wrong.”
“The building of relationships and the fostering of partnerships create an environment where the expansion of ideas can occur and visions can be created for the future,” Cutright said.
He shared the story of the birth of the ACCF and how the foundation partnered with other community organizations to get off the ground and grow.
“There’s no doubt that it gave us the start we needed to become an anchor institution in the community,” Cutright said.
Cutright noted that philanthropy and spirituality were topics that could be discussed at the Ashland Chamber meeting.
“It’s because in Ashland we recognize that commerce is really more than just an exchange of goods and services. We know there’s a real heartbeat that exists in our community. There’s a pulse that is strengthening, not weakening even though we are 201 years old,” Cutright said.
The Chamber of Commerce plays a large role, Cutright believes, in helping strengthen that heartbeat.
“Our Chamber of Commerce acts as what I like to call a network of networks, offering tremendous opportunity for relationships to be fostered and strengthened, resulting in a broader base to encourage investment in our community,” Cutright said.
During the business portion of the meeting, Chris Box of the Ashland County Historical Society was approved as a new member of the Chamber Board of Directors. Outgoing member John Miller, superintendent of Loudonville-Perrysville Schools, was thanked for his years of service to the board.
