Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce Holds Annual Meeting, Looks Back at 2016 and Plans for Future

Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce Holds Annual Meeting, Looks Back at 2016 and Plans for Future

Representatives of the Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce invited dozens of local businesses to their annual report, acknowledging and celebrating the hard work and dedication of their members throughout the previous year.

The annual event was held amid the Spanish-inspired decor of the Best Western Plus La Porte Hotel and Convention Center and featured a catered lunch, speeches from local leaders and an awards ceremony to recognize outstanding participation and achievement by local business leaders.

Rita Mrozinski, president of the La Porte Chamber of Commerce said that the challenge of local chamber leaders is to find new opportunities, make difficult decisions, raise expectations and tackle the status quo.

“Our main speaker here today is Craig Dwight of Horizon Bank, and we will be giving out awards to honor outstanding businesses and individuals in the La Porte area,” said Mrozinski. “We’re encouraged - we see a trend of positive growth for the coming year, with several projects finishing up, which will bring increased job growth to the area.”

Mrozinski is especially proud of recent expansion the Chamber has seen, adding twenty new members so far in 2017 alone.

Drew Gesse, marketing director of the La Porte Chamber of Commerce gave us some insight into the purpose of the day’s event.

“Today, we look back at 2016, which was a very big year for us. We saw a lot of really big changes last year, and we’re excited to look forward to what 2017 will bring,” said Gesse.

Following a catered lunch, the awards portion of the day kicked off with an engrossing speech from Craig Dwight, Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Bank. Dwight’s speech addressed several challenges facing economic leaders of the region, including education, community drug issues, employment and even cybersecurity.

Scott Siefker, Vice President and General Manager of Showmen Supplies, graciously accepted the Clem T. Otolski Business Person of the Year Award. Scott’s company, which sells and supplies specialty lighting and equipment for the entertainment industry, including fairgrounds, concerts production, special events and even the movie industry, has been in business for over fifty years.

“I was born and raised here in La Porte,” said Siefker. “This is a wonderful community and I still live here with my wife and four children.”

He is very optimistic about the business forecast for the area in 2017. “The chamber does an outstanding job, promoting local businesses and economic growth in the community.”

The 2016 John C. Hargrave Ambassador of the Year Award was given to Kristi Chadderdon. Other award recipients included Dawn Zigler, Lydia Post, Kandie Tague, Cheryl Seitz, Carolyn Probasco, John Hagler, Daniel Kaminski, Jay Pouzar, and Tom Larson.

To View Our Full Gallery Click Here

For further information about the La Porte Chamber of Commerce, visit them at http://www.lpchamber.com.