Pictured are chamber award winners and award sponsors.
Seated from left are Dawn-Marie Bass and June Rea, Bass Audiology; Kristy and Rustin Rumfelt, Beyond Landscaping; Mike Schmidt, principal of Wawasee High School; Emily Traycoff, Westmain Tavern; and Henry DeJulia, town manager of Syracuse.
In the middle row are Peggy Genshaw, Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum; Tom Tuttle, Team Tuttle Mortgage; Richard Owen, Owen Family Funeral Homes; Father Larry Biller, All Saints Episcopal Church; Eric Erlenwein, Interra Credit Union; and Tricia Small, Teghtmeyer Ace Hardware.
In back are Don McCulloch, Don’s Excavating; Ron Baumgartner, The Papers Inc.; Todd McCulloch and Dan McCulloch, Don’s Excavating; Erick Leffler, Dynamic Spine, representing Rotary Club; Kim Strawbridge, Lake City Bank; Heath Simcoe, Mutual Bank; Amy Rensberger, KeyBank; Dr. Richard Brungardt, Lakeland Animal Clinic; and Steve Fields, Oakwood Resort.

The year 2014 proved to be a record-breaking one for the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce outgoing President Richard Owen shared at the chamber’s annual awards banquet Tuesday evening.

“The chamber’s membership record was broken,” Owen said. “We crossed 200 members.”

Those 200-some members were the focus of the banquet as the chamber honored several of them and shared what it had done in 2014 to promote them and the town of Syracuse.

Owen noted the chamber had several programs designed to aid businesses in networking such as the well-received Coffee Connections, Lunch and Learn and the new Young Entrepreneurs Association of Syracuse, or YEA’s. Additionally, the chamber completed a strategic plan for the next three to five years.

“I’m excited to see where the next three to five years takes us,” Owen said.

Chamber Executive Director Tammy Cotton noted not just the chamber has seen growth but also Syracuse, with new businesses and a new restaurant coming into town.

“When I look back at my first two years with the chamber, especially 2009, there were a lot of empty buildings,” Cotton said, noting the chamber plans to focus on continuing to bring in new businesses to town, plus promote current businesses.

She stated the chamber’s goals are to better engage members and address their needs. “We are here to be advocates for you; we are here for you.”

Cotton also invited community and chamber members to become more involved with the chamber. “We are always in need of help,” Cotton said, promising the experience can be fun. “Everyone has a talent that they can bring.” She added the chamber has several committees to get involved with.

Mike Schmidt, principal of Wawasee High School, was one of the speakers at the banquet, in addition to outgoing chamber President Richard Owen and chamber Executive Director Tammy Cotton. Schmidt spoke of connecting Wawasee students with the Syracuse community.

Wawasee High School also played a role in the banquet with Allen Coblentz’s shop students creating wooden centerpieces for each table and show choir Vocal Motion performing during a dinner catered by the Sleepy Owl. Principal Mike Schmidt was also one of the speakers.

Schmidt shared the high school’s internship with attendees, noting, “I want my students to go out into the community, to feel like they are part of the community.” He said one of his major goals has been to close the gap between the school and community.

“Our kids want to get out of high school with additional skills,” Schmidt said, welcoming businesses interested in interns to contact Trish Miller at WHS.

Several local businesses and individuals were recognized at this year’s chamber banquet, including: Westmain Tavern, Outstanding New Business; Absolutely Gifts, Outstanding Retail Business; Pat’s Chicago Dogs, Outstanding Restaurant; Syracuse Rotary Club, Outstanding Service Organization; Tom Tuttle with Team Tuttle Mortgage, Outstanding Business Professional; Resia Rinker, Outstanding Voluntarism; Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum, Outstanding Nonprofit; Bass Audiology, Outstanding Service Business; Town of Syracuse, Beautification Award; Mike Schmidt, Outstanding Educational Professional; Rinker Foundation, Philanthropy Award; Beyond Landscaping, Entrepreneur of the Year; and Don’s Excavating, The Chamber Award.

Also honored were the chamber board’s three outgoing members: Owen, Tuttle and Dan Buchman. All three men received special placards commemorating their time on the board. Joining the board in their place will be Steve Fields, Oakwood Resort, and Erick Leffler, Dynamic Spine.

Wawasee High School’s show choir, Vocal Motion, performed at the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards banquet. The group sang and danced to four songs during dinner.