Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce awards set for May 18
Diane and Mike Jarrett will receive Orrville's Paul L. Powell Citizen of the Year award at the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce's annual awards celebration on May 18.
It’s tough to imagine a better cross section of people to represent the fiber of Orrville than those who will be recognized on May 18 at the Chamber of Commerce annual awards ceremony at the White Oaks beginning at 5 p.m.
New categories are Small Business of the Year, won by Gary’s Drive Thru, and the Leadership Orrville Distinguished Alumni Award, going to Maria Hostetler of Main St. Marketing. Other honorees are the Worthy Works Award winner, the Orrville branch of the YMCA; the Dr. Andrew Naumoff Healthy Habits Champion, Barb Lorson; the Business Impact Award winner, McElroy Packaging; and Citizens of the Year Mike and Dianne Jarrett.
Leadership Orrville looks to connect people with resources to support business growth. Hostetler took part in the program in 2010-11, looking for opportunities to network with people she didn’t know.
“Growing up in Orrville, I thought I knew more than I did,” Hostetler said. “I wanted to become a better leader in the community, be a better manager.”
Hostetler said she is still always looking for opportunities to grow. She said the importance of marketing individuals and a businesses can’t be oversold. There is always somebody who can introduce you to somebody you don’t know. She said her own reach has expanded over the years, and she still enjoys meeting new people.
“There’s so many great leaders in this community who have gone through that program,” she said of Leadership Orrville. “To be the one to get this (award) the first year of it is truly an honor.”
Likewise, Corbett Coots of Gary’s was flattered to be the initial recipient of the Small Business of the Year.
“I’ve never been part of a community like Orrville,” he said. “Orrville is still a small town. Everyone knows everyone. It’s that town where you can still go to your neighbor and borrow sugar.”
When first taking over Gary’s, Coots said it had less than $50,000 of inventory. Under his direction that’s moved up to $375,000.
“If you didn’t want a Reece Cup or a Budweiser, you weren’t getting it,” he said of his beginnings.
Coots said a successful small business boils down to a couple things: customer service and giving back to the community. The customer base — the community — is your boss.
“It’s a lot of hands-on, one-on-one, being an owner present and working alongside with everyone,” said Coots, who thanked his staff for helping him do a job he hasn’t many days off from. “I enjoy what I do, or I wouldn’t do it.”
The Business Impact Award recognizes a member who had an impact on the community over the past year. For Steve McElroy of McElroy Packaging, this was a result of going big or going home. It really started in 2017 when the company moved from Wooster.
“From that moment on, we really made a concentrated effort on growing the business and did a good amount of reinvestment in the business,” McElroy said. “In the last year or two years, we’ve expanded the building and really made an investment in our sales team and equipment. To be relevant five or 10 years down the road, it was absolutely necessary to invest in newer equipment.”
Among the additions for McElroy was more than 27,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Having the space to do what his company needs is part of why McElroy headed to Orrville six years ago.
“The city absolutely welcomed us with open arms,” he said. “They gave us everything we needed. Honestly, they treated us like rock stars. They have been a big help since day one.”
Like others, McElroy credited his team for the recognition the company is receiving now.
“I’ve been smart enough to surround myself with people who are smarter than me,” he said. “I have been able to assemble a team that is dedicated to the company and getting the job done.”
The YMCA won the Worthy Works Award. Branch manager Lindsey Baumgartner spoke about how the Y makes a difference in the community.
“Getting recognition from the community means so much to our Y family,” she said. “We hope it will help more people know about how we can help and fill gaps in the lives of our community members and allow us to continue doing good work. Many know that working for a nonprofit can be hard and that our staff are not there for the money. They are there to make a difference in as many people’s lives as they can while loving as many people as they can. This award gives them a glimpse of the benefits of all of their hard work.”
Lorson ran track as a high-schooler, coached then by current Mayor Dave Handwerk. While a student at Ohio State, she was spotted running by the Buckeyes cross country coach, who asked her to join the team. Her love of fitness, though, predates all that.
“It goes back to when I was a kid and we just were outside running around,” she said of the genesis of a love for fitness that led to being named Healthy Habits Champion. “I think it’s nice when you can see that you’ve hopefully given back whatever your passion is to other people. Hopefully, that is what I am doing.”
The Jarretts are two of Orrville’s high-profile citizens, and being named Citizens of the Year in the place they call home is a special honor.
“It is exciting,” Dianne Jarrett said. “Both of us look at it as we’re two of many people in the Orrville community who are passionate about giving back. We love this community, and we feel the community has been there for us. I’ll jokingly say we’ve all been raised to believe Orrville is the promised land. We all have a little bit of Orrville pride in that.”
Those interested in purchasing tickets to the awards ceremony can get tickets by calling 330-682-8881 or visiting www.orrvillechamber.com.