Terry Frederick, Pilcher’s And Bart’s Take Home Chamber Awards
NORTH WEBSTER — With a tip of the hat to St. Patrick’s Day, North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce celebrated at its annual awards dinner Monday evening, March 13, at the North Webster Community Center.
Chosen as the award recipients for 2016 were Person of the Year Dr. Terry Frederick; Small Business of the Year Pilcher’s Shoes; and Large Business of the Year Bart’s Watersports. Nominations are made by the public and the recipients are voted upon by the chamber board according to President Sue Ward, Sue’s Creations, who was the evening’s announcer.
Frederick and his wife Sue, have been residents of Webster Lake for several years and he is currently serving as president of The Watershed Foundation. He is past president of the Webster Lake Conservation Association and a member of the chamber of commerce board. He still practices medicine part time at a free clinic in Columbia City.
Pilcher’s Shoes has been in business since 1947 and in North Webster since 1990 occupying the famous “castle” building. It specializes in hard to find size shoes. Owner Bob Pilcher and his wife Diane believe in giving back to their community. One example is Pilcher’s Shoes lets its lawn be used for various chamber and town activities including the Dixie Day Festival and Artisan Fair.
Always a backer of numerous community projects and environmental causes, Bart’s Watersports is an international water sports retailer. The business began on a small scale when owner and founder Bart Culver started renting waterskis and has expanded into a thriving concern with online and storefront presences. It has always been in North Webster.
Ward emphasized, “We are so fortunate to live and work in North Webster. We have a great community spirit as is shown by you all being here for this fun and meaningful dinner. When help is needed, North Webster gets busy.”
Besides meeting and greeting, guests were entertained with a lively and well stocked silent auction by chamber member businesses. The dinner and cash bar were catered by chamber member The Sleepy Owl Supper Club.
North Webster United Methodist Church Pastor Byron Kaiser gave the invocation. Committee chairmen were Frederick, Susan Stump, The Papers, and Stacey Cox, Pletcher Insurance.