People attending last weeks Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce annual dinner and meeting found a little extra on their tables at the Greenbriar Conference & Party Center.
Next to the dinner rolls and condiments were bowls of potato chips and tortilla chips, thanks to Frito-Lay, voted the Chambers Business of the Year.
Frito-Lays Wooster plant brought on the snacks and a few dozen employees to accept one of the evenings major awards and to tell its own success story. Located at 1626 Old Mansfield Road, the local facility is the oldest operational plant in the company. The Plano, Texas-based Frito-Lay is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepsico.
The chip business started in Wooster in 1947 with the production of the New Era potato chip. The plant was purchased by Frito in 1958, which itself joined with the H.W. Lay Co. in 1961.
The Wooster facility has expanded over the years and employs a workforce of more than 350, including three generations of one family.
The award was accepted by manufacturing manager Mike Kulbacki, who said that while the Wooster plant has won awards from Frito Lay and has been lauded for its environmentally conscious processes, it was great for it to be recognized in its community.
Also honored at the banquet was Seaman Corp. Chief Executive Officer Richard Seaman, who was named to the Chamber Wall of Fame. Attorney Peggy Schmitz of Critchfield, Critchfield & Johnston was presented the Jack ODonnell Award for Community Service, while Stacy Rottman of Central Farm and Garden received the Mike Lezak Award for Volunteer Service.
ODonnell and Lezak, both deceased, were former Chamber presidents.
The Board of Directors Award went to the University of Akron Wayne College and Dr. Alan Kiefer was named the Leadership Wooster Distinguished Alumni.
The Chamber awards its Small Business of the Year awards during the summer, but winners were honored again at the annual meeting. Pizzazz Performance Wear received the honor for businesses with fewer than 20 employees, while D.C. Curry Lumber Co., was the top small business among those with more than 20 employees.
Chamber partner organizations presenting awards included:
The Wayne Economic Development Council, Quality Growth Award: RBB Systems.
Wayne County Womens Network, Athena Awards: Judy Delaney of Goodwill Industries of Wayne & Holmes Counties and Deanna Troutman of Troutman Vineyards.
Wayne County Community Foundation, Worthy Works Award: The Counseling Center of Wayne & Holmes Counties.
Outgoing Chamber Chair Dee Vaidya, chairman and chief executive officer of RDM Equipment, reported that 2013 was the Chambers second-best year in a decade in the bottom line, and said one of the years highlights was the Wayne Economic Forum, an event that sold out at the Shisler Conference Center and which will be moved to Greenbriar in 2014. He urged attendees to adopt an attitude of being joyful and have a great 2014.
Vaidya is being succeeded by Stewart Fitz Gibbon of Wayne Savings Community Bank. The new chairman promised a year of making connections, of engagement and of legislative advocacy.
