SHELBY – The Richland Area Chamber of Commerce honored some of its best and brightest on Thursday evening, offering an optimistic view of the county’s future.
The theme of the Chamber’s annual report for 2016 was “Building Momentum,” and President Jodie Perry gave numerous examples as to how the Chamber was doing just that in areas of membership, participation, interaction, advocacy and collaboration.
“It’s been a transformative year at the Chamber, and it was also just the beginning of doing the types of things that I hope you will see this organization continue to do in years to come,” Perry said to a record crowd of 313 attendees at the Kehoe Center in Shelby.
“I fully believe in the potential of this community and this organization, and I’m looking forward to working with each one of you to bring those dreams to reality.”
One example of a recent transformation at the Chamber was the retirement of Bill Sharp as director of the Mansfield-Richland Area Education Foundation. Perry officially announced on Thursday evening that Sharp’s shoes would be filled by former Richland Bank branch manager Nikki Lewis as of Feb. 13.
“Nikki is great and I think you’re all going to love her, she’s going to bring a lot of great new idea to the Foundation,” Perry said. “We’re sure looking forward to working with her.”
Brian Schmidt, president of the Chamber Board of Directors, also offered a few examples of how the Chamber aimed to improve Richland County both internally and in the community. He noted the Chamber would be tackling the online perception issue of how the community is viewed by others, re-energizing the #RichlandRocks hashtag campaign, and reimplementing the “curb appeal” award to businesses undertaking beautification efforts.
“There are opportunities to continue to make Richland County the best place in the world to live, work and play, and I truly feel that way,” Schmidt said. “Improvements in the general economy will benefit all participants of that economy. We will continue to work with our partners in economic development to better serve our community, and look for opportunities to support them.”
The best examples of making Richland County the best place to live came in the form of a number of award winners on Thursday night. Schmidt had the pleasure of awarding three community members the Extraordinary Leadership Award, given to people who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership that goes above and beyond their daily work responsibilities in a project or effort.
The Extraordinary Leadership Award winners included Fred Boll, executive director of Little Buckeye Children’s Museum, Kim Miers of the Mansfield/Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Dave Eichinger for his role as chairman of the board during the transition from MedCentral to OhioHealth Hospital.
Schmidt also had the honor of presenting the Chairman’s Award, first given by Bob Enskat, then-CEO of General Motors, in 1981. Recipients of this award have demonstrated a long-standing commitment to community service in the Richland County region, and Thursday night’s winner Pam Siegenthaler was no exception.
“Identifying opportunities to collaborate and bringing organizations together to accomplish more than any one could have on its own is evidenced by the continuation of relationships and programs that were started years ago by (Siegenthaler), and are still in place and thriving today,” Schmidt said.
“For (Siegenthaler), the term ‘community service’ hasn’t been something that was suggested or required by an employer, or something that was done on a haphazard basis,” he continued. “For her, community service has been a lifelong passion.”
Siegenthaler was presented with the traditional gift of a mantel clock as a thank-you for her service.
“It’s been a pleasure and an honor to be involved in the community,” she said. “Thank you, all.”
Another significant award presented Thursday was the ATHENA award, which carries a prestigious and national reputation. Named for Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and skill, the award celebrates the wisdom, courage, strength and enlightenment which are inherent in its recipient, Sally Gesouras.
“For over 25 years, Sally has acted as a visible and active community member throughout the Mansfield and Richland County area,” said 2015 ATHENA award recipient Rebecca Toomey. “She embodies the ATHENA value of contributing time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community.”
ATHENA recipients demonstrate support of the goals of professional women and provide unselfish assistance on their behalf, demonstrate excellence in business or profession, provide valuable service to business and their profession and the community, and exhibit initiative and creativity enhancing the efficacy of business or their profession and providing stability and improvement of the community.
“She has achieved a high level of excellence within her profession, serving as a strong example of a female leader for all those who work with her,” said 2016 ATHENA award recipient Melanie Riggleman. “She is passionate about helping all members of the community, especially women, to realize their full leadership potential.”
Other 2017 nominees for the ATHENA award were Annamarie Fernyak and Jodie Perry. Gesouras counted herself lucky to be among such a group.
“I came across something that Plato said – maybe Plato knew Athena, he was Greek – and he was quoted as saying, ‘That’s what is honored in a community is cultivated there,'” Gesouras said. “I invite each of you to help cultivate the wonderful community that we have, and give of yourself in the best way you can to continue to make this community fantastic.”
