After having the world’s spotlight shined on the city of Wapakoneta this past summer, the Chamber was ready to celebrate what was accomplished this past year.
During their annual meeting and community awards banquet, the Wapakoneta Chamber of Commerce looked back at a very busy 2019. Of course, their biggest event was the Summer Moon Festival that celebrated the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps of the moon. The Chamber may have helped organize the festival, but it was the community that rose to the occasion to make it memorable.
“We have been working so hard all year,” says Jackie Martell the Ex. Dir. of the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce. “Now to see what we did, to truly recognized the people that made it happen, which is nearly every single person in Wapakoneta. Every business, every service club, for the Chamber that's a great honor to do.”
One person was thanked for his decades of service to the Cridersville and Wapakoneta community. Greg Myers was the recipient of the first-ever lifetime achievement award from the chamber. Besides being the director of the Economic Development Council, Myers has served as Wapakoneta’s unofficial ambassador locally and around the world.
“This community is hard not to fall in love with,” adds Greg Myers, the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. “A lot of wonderful people, a lot of wonderful organizations in Wapakoneta. A business friend in Lima said not too long ago, 'everybody wants to be Wapakoneta right now'. It’s a great community and it’s an honor to be recognized.”
2019 Award Winners:
1. Ambassador Award Sponsored by Bayliff & Eley Funeral Home and G.A. Wintzer and Son Co. for the Armstrong Air and Space Museum
2. Nonprofit Organization of the Year Sponsored by the Grand Plaza Banquet Hall for Mercy Unlimited
3. Small Business of the Year Sponsored by Minster Bank and TSC for Casa Chic
4. Large Business of the Year Sponsored by Wapakoneta Eagles #691 and First National Bank of New Bremen for TSC
5. Lifetime Achievement Award Sponsored by the Wapakoneta Chamber of Commerce for Greg Myers
6. Safety/Service Person of the year Sponsored by Hamer Lodge #167 for Karl Olson
7. Volunteer of the Year Sponsored by Superior Credit Union and Merritt Real Estate Professionals for Deb Fischer
8. Educator of the Year Sponsored by Auglaize Embroidery and Al's Woody's Diner for Linda Temple
9. Emerging Business of the Year Sponsored By Binkley Real Estate and Silver Shears Salon and Spa for Winan's Chocolates & Coffees
10. Citizen of the Year Sponsored by Alan Davis Insurance Agency and Stroh, Johnson & Company for Karen Tullis
