Holmes County Chamber celebrates the ongoing growth of a community committed to excellence
The Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism joined hundreds of chamber members, elected officials and its board on Thursday, Nov. 8 at Carlisle Inn at Walnut Creek in honor of the annual Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau’s annual meeting and awards banquet.
The event is a celebration of a hard-working community committed to creating excellence in whatever it strives to accomplish as it continues to be one of Ohio’s most visited tourist destinations.
Recently a state economist came to visit Holmes County, and during his time here he told Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism executive director Shasta Mast that on paper Holmes County should not be a success.
Mast said whenever a government body comes to visit and would like to offer assistance, they always start out with the nuts and bolts that come with exploring the county on paper, looking at it through the eyes of Appalachian Country or noting the lack of four-lane highways that bring people to an area. They look at the large number of high school drop-outs, failing to recognize the Amish community students usually end their education after the eighth grade.
Mast always has the same response to them: "Take another look, a deeper look at what makes Holmes County tick."
“Look at our entrepreneurial activity. Check out our unemployment rate,” Mast said. “Measure our exports and analyze the long-term success of our businesses. Once you do that, then we can talk.”
Mast went on to say the region’s entrepreneurs generate wealth for themselves as well as for their employees. They all invest generously back into the community. That commitment to caring for those around them is the thing Mast said drives Holmes County to success.
“You are investing in your community, and we take that responsibility in our office very seriously,” Mast said.
Chamber President Kent Miller said the county’s thriving assets and beautiful countryside continue to be an enticing destination for tourists.
“For a leisure visit, the allure of getting a glimpse of this community that has rolling hills, lots of good food and attractions, abundant furniture retailers, and numerous lodging options amidst other things, along with the Amish plain community, is a huge draw that keeps people coming back,” Miller said. “They truly come back time after time because of our values we have here and the local hospitality we provide them each time they are here.”
Miller said the faith-based values and the high quality of merchandise is a reason business people find Holmes County a place to connect to in their business dealings.
Miller said having a chamber that continues to promote the possibilities within the county’s borders continues to be vital to the economic growth of Holmes County. He praised Mast and her staff for continuing to roll out the red carpet for those who put Amish Country on their agenda.
“Under the leadership of Shasta, our chamber office is a model chamber that other counties envy and try to replicate,” Miller said. “On behalf of the board, I want to thank each of you for all of the many hours you give on behalf of all of our chamber members to help promote Holmes County as a destination to visit, to live, to work and to potentially open a business.”
Holmes County commissioner Ray Eyler spoke on behalf of the commissioners. He noted that after the financial crash of 2008, the commissioners committed themselves to strengthening the county’s financial position, successfully adopting a fiscally responsible budget-management practice.
Since 2008 when the county was sitting on the doorstep of having no rainy day fund, the commissioners have helped guide that reserve fund to more than $1.1 million, and Eyler said it is going to stay that way. He noted that in the past year the commissioners were able to help fund the effort to put a law-enforcement officer in both West and East Holmes school districts. They continued to provide for growth opportunities in the county by enhancing the wastewater systems in growing communities.
The county recently completed a large project in Mt. Hope and is focusing next on Winesburg. In addition Eyler said they are focusing on the ongoing chore of keeping up with road-repair efforts. They also continued to aggressively pursue state and national grants to further enhance the county.
The commissioners used a portion of funds from the income generated from the casino tax money to beautify the area around the county courthouse in Millersburg, a recently completed project that the commissioners believe will help draw even more people to the Historic Downtown Millersburg area. The commissioners utilized all local contractors for the courthouse beautification project.
Eyler said the next project is to erect a new water tower to replace the aging systems at the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, the Holmes County Home and the Holmes County Board of Developmental Disabilities facilities.
"Right now each one has their own water supply, and they aren’t feasible, and they are getting old,” Eyler said. “We will have two or three wells feeding that tower, so if one goes down, we will have a back-up.”
The chamber also elected five new members to the board. Bret Galion, Jason Hummel, Glen Miller, Chris Roush and Vic Weaver all were elected and agreed to serve three-year terms on the chamber board. They join Carey Conn, Atlee Kaufman, Alan Kozak, Kurt Rodhe, James Troyer, Mike Burch, Monica Miller, David Miller, Kent Miller and Garrett Roach.
As always the evening concluded with the awarding of the small, medium and large business of the year award winners, which respectively went to Kauffman Lawn Furniture, Mast Farm Service and Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen. In addition the chamber honored the Millersburg Rotary Club with its Community Service Award, and Mark Lonsinger received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Every year the chamber board has to sift through the nominees and pick a rose among roses, a diamond among diamonds,” Mast said. “It’s not easy, and it’s because you are all out there making our community what it is.”