WAPAKONETA, OH (WLIO) - Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce members came together on Thursday night to celebrate all the growth and accomplishments of the past year.
More than 300 people attended the annual Community Awards Dinner for the announcements of this year's winners in nine categories, including Educator of the Year and Small Business of the Year.
2023 has been recording breaking for the chamber, with an all-time high of 78 new members bringing their total to 403. The chamber says that as businesses in the area grow, more modern amenities become available to residents, and community events like the Summer Moon Festival will continue to get bigger and better.
"It's the one time of year that we come together to celebrate what we've accomplished together as a community. To me, that's the secret sauce of any community, is that we collaborate, we support each other, we don't let people fail here in Wapakoneta. We work together for the success of the whole," said Jackie Martell, the executive director of the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber is also seeing a significant increase in non-profit organization members.
This year's winners are:
Educator of the Year- Laura Mears, Wapakoneta City Schools
Ambassador of the Year- City of Wapakoneta Electric Department
Non-Profit of the Year- Wapakoneta Rotary Club
Volunteer of the Year- Becky Puff
Small Business of the Year- Swartz Restoration & Emergency Services
Large Business of the Year- T-Mobile
Emerging Business of the Year- Krave Creamery
Young Professional of the Year- Sarah Kelsey
Citizen of the Year- Deb Zwez
