On Thursday, the Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce hosted their Salute to Business Luncheon at the Silver Palace in La Porte. The luncheon aimed to recognize and honor businesses or organizations who have made a contribution to the La Porte Community.
Many businesses and organizations gathered to network at the event, with LaPorteCountyLife.com’s Chris Mahlmann speaking at the beginning of the event as the title sponsor. For Mahlmann, the event was a way to spread the idea of positivity, which many felt throughout the event as businesses, and often friends, were recognized for their hard work.
“I think it’s celebrating both growth and generosity in our community,” explained Drew Gesse, the Marketing Director for the Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce. “I think it does showcase how amazing our business community is and what they’re doing to make it a better place. This is also a great networking opportunity. There are a lot of people in the community and it’s great for them to meet face to face.”
After a buffet lunch, multiple businesses were presented with plaques designating their award. These honors included a small business of the year, mid-sized business of the year, large business of the year, two Outstanding Young La Portean awards, and more.
LeAnn VanSchoyck, owner of LR Men’s Clothier of La Porte was presented the Small Business of the Year award, with Chamber CEO and President Rita Mrozinski mentioning her great attention to detail and positive effect on the community. VanSchoyck expressed her excitement and described the experience as humbling.
“I feel honored. Being brought up in La Porte, which is a small community, and it being so supportive of me; it’s wonderful,” explained VanSchoyck. “I love my job and I've been privileged to do this for more than 20 years. It’s not just a job to me, I care about my customers.”
For the business community, the event not only honored businesses for their contributions to La Porte, but also provided a networking opportunity for those in attendance. With growth projected to continue into the future and the luncheon seeing its largest attendance ever, many were there to learn more about the business community and how they could help it grow.
“It’s good for us to learn about the businesses in the area and what needs they may have,” said Diane Doyne of Villing and Company. “It’s also good to see if there’s any way that we can help any of them.”
For those in attendance, the event boasted a hopeful, positive atmosphere geared toward growth and community engagement. For local businesses, La Porte is taking steps to help aid them in whatever they may need to continue growth and stability in the area.
Years of Service winners include:
-Arconic, 60 years. Arconic had Lee Klingbiel who was instrumental in opening the La Porte facility. Also with him is his son-in-law Chris Bohlin who joined the Arconic facility in 2016. They also have Jerry Jones, superintendent of Arconic, in attendance, who had the opportunity to work with both generations of this family at Arconic. -La Porte Community Federal Credit Union, 80 years. -Mid-City Supply Company, 70 years. -Paladin, Inc., 50 years. -Pressel Enterprises, 25 years. -T-Bone’s Pier 11 & The Blue Heron Inn, 10 years & 20 years, respectively. -The Unity Foundation of La Porte County, 25 years.
Employment Increase Winners include:
- Arconic
- Packaging Logic
Capital Investment Winners include:
- Arconic
- Jaeger
- Unitek Sealing Solutions
- Packaging Logic
- The Unity Foundation of La Porte County - who donated Unity Park to the City of La Porte, which had an appraised value of $1.515 million. They also invested over $600,000 into the STAR Center in Michigan City.
Small Business of the Year: LR Men’s Clothier
Mid-Sized Business of the Year: Qubit Networks
Large Business of the Year: American Licorice
Outstanding Young La Portean: Jaime Oss of Huelat, Mack & Kreppein, PC
Outstanding Young La Portean: Nate Loucks of State Street Community Church
Community Organization of the Year: La Porte County Public Library
Workforce Development Award: Ivy Tech Community College
Blue Collar Worker of the Year: Jimmy Pressel of Pressel Enterprises