Photos from the Salute to Business Luncheon can be seen here!
It may hove been a cold and snowy day in La Porte, but in the Silver Palace, an event took place that warmed the hearts of hard-working business owners and community leaders. The 11th Annual Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce Salute to Business Luncheon took place that day, honoring entities that have made significant contributions to the community based on longevity, growth in employment, physical expansion and economic impact in La Porte County.
It was a full house when Mike Seitz, President of the Greater La Porte Chamber of Commerce opened the luncheon.
"Today is one of my favorite events," Seitz said. "We have the opportunity to honor those area Chamber members who have made significant capital improvements, added employment, and reached a significant number of years of service to the community."
Four objectives were on the agenda for the luncheon:
- To honor Chamber members that have had an increase in employment, reached a significant number of years of service, or made a capital investment in their businesses.
- To honor an organization that has made a contribution to the quality of life, supported local nonprofits, and helped the community.
- To project the economic climate for 2015 in employment growth and capital investment.
- Gain great networking opportunities.
"This is a great way to honor the businesses that have been dedicated to our community,"Laura Francesconi, Chairman of the Board for the La Porte Chamber of Commerce said. "I'm happy to be here as a representative of the Chamber. We have people that look forward to it. This is one of the indirect benefits of being a member of the Chamber; you get recognized for your hard work."
Plaques were presented to each Chamber member that reached the aforementioned milestones. The following Chamber member companies received 2014 Salute to Business Gold Awards:
- American Licorice Company - 10 years of service to La Porte and increase in employment and capital investments
- Angelos & Rardin, CPA - increase in capital investments
- B & B Manufacturing - increase in employment and capital investments
- CBRE/Brokerage - 16 years of service to La Porte
- Dunebrook, Inc. 25 years of service to La Porte and increase in employment and capital investments
- Farm Credit Mid-America - increase in employment
- Hatfield Pest Control - 70 years of service to La Porte
- Jaeger-Unitek Sealing Solutions - increase in employment and capital investments
- La Porte County Convention and Visitors Bureau - 35 years of service to La Porte
- La Porte County Family YMCA - increase in employment and capital investments
- La Porte County Public Library - 98 years of service to La Porte
- La Porte Herald Argus - 134 years of service to the community
- La Porte Savings Bank - increase in capital investments
- Meridian Title Corporation - 20 years of service to La Porte
- Packaging Logic - 19 years of service to La Porte and capital investments
- Parents & Friends, Inc. - increase in capital investments
- Purdue Federal Credit Union - increase in capital investments
- READ La Porte County - 27 years of service to La Porte
- Spire Farm-to-Fork - increase in capital investments
- United Way of La Porte County - increase in capital investments
- Unity Foundation of La Porte County - increase in employment
A total of 48 new employees and $9,948,125.00 in capital investments was made between September 2014 and September 2014. The businesses combined have a total of 914 years of service to the community.
"We love being part of La Porte. We love the businesses that are here. So many of them are big supporters of the United Way," Kris Pate, Executive Director for the United Way of La Porte County said. "They make that opportunity for people to give back to the community whether it's through donations, volunteering, or whatever it might be; and we appreciate that. There have been some hard times in La Porte County and we want to make sure our businesses are successful."
Following these awards, the 11th Annual Corporate Citizen Award was announced. This award is presented to a company that has made significant contributions to the community and raised the quality of life in La Porte. The recipient was 1st Source Bank. They have given over $286,000 in donations within the past five years to organizations like Purdue North Central, the United Way of La Porte County, and the Unity Foundation. Their employees in La Porte County have a combined 602 volunteer hours.
State Representative Tom Dermody was the keynote speaker at the luncheon. He spoke on being a small business owner, what it's like to be in the State Legislature, as well as what Indiana can expect from this year's session.
"I want to thank you all for the opportunity to serve. This is my fifth term and I've started my ninth year. And I may have a lot more grey hair, but I love this job," Dermody said. "We're going to continue to roll up our sleeves and work together to move La Porte forward and the state forward. It's going to be an exciting year for Indiana."
"This session will be interesting. We now have 71 members and we are going to work together," Dermody continued. "It's fair to say that we will not be concentrating on social issues this year. We need to continue to focus on job creation and continue to focus on financial responsibility and continue to make Indiana a very competitive state."
Dermody spoke of what some of the future plans were for Indiana and then opened the floor to anyone who had questions. Many asked relevant and important questions that were centered around the betterment of La Porte County.
The luncheon closed on a high note, promising a great year for local businesses and we can only look up and forward for the coming year.