Chamber of Commerce Presents 2023 Annual Dinner & Diamond Awards

The Meadville-Western Crawford County Chamber of Commerce recently held their annual Annual Dinner and Diamond Awards at Saegertown's Pampered Palate Catering and Conference Center.

Christa Lundy, executive director of the Chamber says, "The Chamber is delighted to be honoring these deserving individuals, nonprofit organizations and businesses that are doing so much for our community. There are so many wonderful acts happening. That is why we always look forward to recognizing these Chamber members who have been doing remarkable things."

One of the biggest highlights of the evening is the recognition of the prestigious Governor Raymond P. Shafer Award for Distinguished Community Service, presented by the Chamber, Allegheny College and Shafer Law Firm. Jan Van Tuil was honored as this year's recipient based on her decades-long volunteer service in Meadville. Among her contributions, Van Tuil served on the Crawford Central School Board for decades, now serves on the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Meadville, as well as on Greendale Cemetery's Board. She also served the First Christian Church for more than 40 years.

The esteemed Lew and Ellie Davies Award for Outstanding Community Service was bestowed on Kaitlyn Royal, an Allegheny College junior. Royal's work with "4th Graders as Scientists", a cooperative program of Partners in Education and the Crawford Central School District. She is also an active volunteer with His Work, His Way and the First Baptist Church of Linesville and participates in various French Creek Valley Conservancy volunteer projects. On campus, Kaitlyn works as an educator with Creek Connections, an environmental education program. Honorable mention recognition was presented to Autumn Peterson, a senior who was nominated for her service with Juniper Village of Meadville, where she prepares and leads activities for residents. She has also served two years with the Meadville Area Free Clinic and participated in the Health Coach program with the Meadville Medical Center.

The highlight of the evening was the awarding of the 2023 Diamond Awards. And the winners are:

 Emerging Leader, Male -  Evan Kardosh, City of Meadville

Emerging Leader, Female - Sarah Miller, Women's Services, Inc.

New Business - Cup n' Spoon

Small Business - Chateau Christine

Mid-Sized Business - Hunter's Inn

Small Non-Profit - St. James Haven

Large Non-Profit - Vallonia Industries

The Emerging Leader Award is presented to an individual in the early years of their career who has demonstrated leadership qualities within their businesses and community. The Emerging Leader Award was established to foster young leadership and enhance retention of young professionals in our community. All nominees have demonstrated professional leadership and a commitment to community service. 

Both the Small, Mid-Sized and Large Business Awards Small Awards are issued to recognize local businesses that have achieved success and to support initiatives and organizations that enhance the quality of life in the Meadville-Western Crawford County area. All nominated businesses have demonstrated admirable performance, growth, innovation, creativity, and community involvement.

The Small Non-Profit and Large Non-Profit of the Year Awards celebrate local organizations that have achieved success while supporting initiatives and projects that enhance the quality of life in the Meadville-Western Crawford County area.

From the Director’s Desk

Well spring has sprung, and we are so very excited for what is ahead! First, we want to recognize and congratulate all the winners of our Annual Diamond Awards last month. Be sure to look for next month’s newsletter for more details.

Even though our next signature event is not until our Women’s Golf outing in July, we are not slowing down.  We are very excited to celebrate this 13th Leadership Meadville Class at the Graduation & celebration on Friday, May 12th. Please join us for this occasion at Davenport Cidery & Winery for lunch provided by Ranz Bar & Grille, and our speaker will be Jason Nesbitt of Center for Family Services. Jason is a Leadership alum and has won our Emerging Leader Award, and Center for Family Services was our Large Non-Profit of the Year in 2022. Join us to celebrate with this year’s class. Enjoy a great lunch, good people, and beautiful setting. If you cannot attend the luncheon, the Leadership Meadville group will be moving to the main building for some cheer & live music afterwards at 4pm.

With one Leadership Class closing, that means another one begins. Leadership Meadville 14 applications are available now. Be sure to complete an application or please invite someone that you think would benefit and enjoy the program to join us. This truly is one of our Chamber’s greatest assets.

We have numerous ribbon cuttings, anniversaries, grand opening celebrations in the upcoming months. Our Business After Hours events are booked for the year. If you are wanting to host an event in 2024, please contact Meagan at Mwaters@meadvillechamber.com.  Our Businesswomen’s Roundtable group meetings continue to bring new and familiar faces. Remember, all women of any Chamber member business are invited to attend these meetings. This month we’ll be in Linesville at Chic Lifestyle on May 15th! Please note the earlier meeting date this month. Ladies, join us and bring a friend to learn more about Chic Lifestyle and meet Ashley and the fun ladies that work there. We’ll do a cake cutting celebration for the 1-year anniversary of the Chic Lifestyle’s brick-and-mortar boutique, and dive into another discussion topic. Our next Human Resources meeting will be Tuesday, May 23rd at Hoss’s at noon. All are welcome to this roundtable meeting as well.

We are planning some educational seminars for fall, as an outcome of one our Businesswomen group meetings. There was so much discussion, questions and answers we realized that we need more in-depth conversations on the topic of marketing and advertising for your business. Be sure to watch your calendars for these sessions. You won’t want to miss them, as we all need to be on top of our own marketing strategies, no matter our business size or budget.

As I close for now, I want to sincerely wish every mother a Happy Mother’s Day this month. If you are blessed to still have your mom on this earth, I pray that you get to spend some quality time with her, or at the very least talk awhile so she knows you appreciate her. Some of us have lost our mothers early, or do not have our mothers around. This year marks 20 years since mine passed. I am forever grateful for her and my greatest joy in this life is being a mom to my children, although they are adults. Later this month, I hope that you have an enjoyable Memorial Day.  Be sure to think of the real reason for this day, it is not just a long weekend to kick off summer. 

I hope to see you soon. If not at one of our Chamber events, maybe at another member or community event, or just walking downtown. Be sure to start taking advantage of First Friday events, Second Saturday markets and such. If you would like to arrange a meeting, please feel free to contact the office at 814.337.8030.

Sincerely,

Christa