Hanover Chamber Names Business Award Recipients and Educators of the Year

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The Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Business Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 at Bay City Restaurant. The event was presented by APPI Energy, Doceo, and KLK Welding.

In addition to naming Educators of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year, Positive Action Award, and the new Her Traditions Women’s Enrichment Award, the Chamber recognized Kevin Gulden of Utz Quality Foods as Past Chair of the Board; Trista Geeting of Cognitive Health Solutions as Ambassador of the Year, Elizabeth Johnides of the Markets at Hanover with the Community Leader Award; and Dr. Russell Greenholt, retiring superintendent of Conewago Valley School District with the Chairman’s Award.

Competitors from Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics, Inc., three-time winners of the Annual Corporate Challenge, were again presented with the trophy for winning the 2019 competition.

The Chamber recognized Member Anniversaries including:

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5 years: A Helping Hand Home Care Services, LLC; Academy for Media Production (AMP); Alleghenies United Cerebral Palsy; Bailey Coach; Destination Gettysburg; DOCEO Growth Partners, LLC; Hanover Hearing Center; Southern PA Magazine; Harvest Chapel; La Cucina Restaurant; Penny Press of York, Inc.; RMS of Hanover; ServiceMaster Commercial Services of York County; Wells Fargo Bank

10 years: APPI Energy; C.H. Reed, Inc.; Compleat Restorations, Inc.; Dial-A-Temp; Exchange Club of Hanover; Hanover Logistics; Hickory Falls Family Entertainment Center; Jiffy Lube; Madison Settlement Services, Inc.; Met Ed; Penn Waste, Inc.; PSI Capital Management, Inc.; Seymore's Custom Woodworking, Inc.; W. Hal Wyatt CPA PC

15 years: American Heart Association; Apostolic Ministries; Elsner Bell & Associates, LLC; Fischer Insurance Agency; G & S Foods LLC; Gettysburg Rental Center; Hanover Area Jaycees; South Central PA Public Warehouse; Harry L. Bubb Associates, Inc.; L.J. Hofine, Inc.; Marks' Auto Body Specialist; Members 1st Federal Credit Union; Penn National Insurance; Prestige Apparel, LLC; Strine's Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.; TempStar Staffing; The Residence at Hanover Shoe - Senior Residences at Hanover Shoe; Visiting Angels; Warehouse Gourmet Bistro & Brewpub; Yorktowne Townhomes

25 years: Conewago Enterprises, Inc.; Hoffman Homes for Youth; Lincoln Investment Planning; Minuteman Press; Utz Quality Foods, LLC

50 years: Dacco Erectors, Inc.; Panebaker Funeral Home & Cremation Care Center, Inc.; Print-O-Stat, POS Fast Copy Center

60 years: Barley Snyder; Hanover Public School District

 70 years: Vulcan Materials Company; Clarks Americas, Inc.

The 2019 Educators of the Year included Rachel Berkebile, South Western School District; Lisa Smith, Hanover Public School District; Theresa Smith, St. Joseph Catholic School; Benjamin Louey, Spring Grove Area School District; and Tamela Hall, Conewago Valley School District.

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Event sponsor Mike Black, Chief Sales Officer for Doceo, presented the Small Business of the Year award to Shoe Orthodontics on behalf of Penn National Insurance.

Small businesses, classified as those with no more than 40 full-time employees, play a crucial part in the economy and welfare of the Hanover community.  The Small Business of the Year is awarded to the business that best exemplifies sound principles of business success, personnel management, and community leadership and service.

Changing lives since 2015, Shoe Orthodontics is not your ordinary orthodontist. When you walk into their office, you’ll immediately realize there’s no sterile, dental office feeling; instead, patients are greeted with a space that makes them feel right at home. 

Much like their office aesthetics, Shoe Orthodontics’ business model is unique too. Shoe Orthodontics firmly believes that patient experience matters just as much as the final result. Patients find their time spent with Shoe Orthodontics to be fun, efficient, and enjoyable. The confidence they gain from their beautiful smiles is just an added bonus.

Dr. Jason Shoe grew up in New Alexandria, PA. He chose Hanover as the place to raise his children and start his business, noting the strong sense of community that can be felt in our town. Dr. Shoe strongly believes in giving back to this community and has established Shoe Orthodontics as a local chapter of Smile for a Lifetime. Through Smile for a Lifetime, Shoe Orthodontics provides free orthodontic treatment to children in the Hanover community whose financial situations would otherwise prevent access to care. Shoe also gives back to the community by supporting local charities and families in need. In addition, Shoe Orthodontics is extremely active in community events like the Hanover Halloween Parade, National Night Out, and Halloween in the Park, just to name a few.

 

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Event sponsor Thomas Best, Energy Consultant for APPI Energy, presented the Entrepreneur of the Year award to Paige Wingert, CEO of L2 Brands.

The Entrepreneur of the Year is awarded to a member of the Hanover Chamber whose business has been locally established for at least two years. The nominee’s business must be reputable, visible and show the effects of entrepreneurial skill in exemplary management and growth, and the nominee must be the individual responsible for the reputation that distinguishes the business among its competitors. 

Paige Wingert co-founded Legacy Athletic (now L2 Brands) with his roommate, Mark Landgren, during his last year of law school in 1992. Their apartment-based venture soon consumed more time and passion than law school, and after graduating, Wingert soon realized that his heart was set on pursuing their fledgling business, not practicing law. 

Since 2000, Wingert had served as sole owner and president of the company, guiding it through numerous product and sales channel expansions. In 2017, Legacv Athletic celebrated its 25th anniversary – well-positioned as a leading headwear, apparel and home décor lifestyle brand serving the collegiate, resort and corporate markets across the U.S., Canada and Caribbean. Legacy Athletic was honored as the 2014 recipient of the Governor’s Small Business Impact Award, as a 2016 finalist for the Central Penn Business Journal’s Business of the Year award, and as a 2017 recipient of Learfield Licensing Partners Fastest Growing Apparel/Headwear Licensee award.

In April 2018, Legacy Athletic completed a recapitalization transaction with the goal to merge the company with League Collegiate Outfitters, a Philadelphia-based college apparel company founded in 1992. This merger formed the new name for the company: L2 Brands. Today, L2 employs over 300 workers in the Hanover area, 40 in Philadelphia and another 450 at their apparel manufacturing facility in El Salvador. 

 

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Award sponsor Kathy Lucas, Employer Liason for WellSpan Health, presented the Positive Action Award to the H.A.R.T Center.  The Positive Action Award is given to an organization or business that positively contributes to meeting the needs of the Hanover region and works together with community members toward a cooperative vision that suggests ways to manage growth.  

In 1969, a small group of parents with physically, developmentally or mentally challenged children realized that they shared a common vision: all of them wanted to ensure that their children could become productive members of society. It was from this shared vision that the Hanover Adams Rehabilitation and Training Center (H.A.R.T. Center) was founded as a “safe place” where sons and daughters could perform “real work” and earn a real paycheck.

Today and for 50 years, The H.A.R.T. Center has stood the test of time, growing from supporting a mere four individuals when the doors first opened to a current enrollment of 135 adults with physical or intellectual disabilities. Their service is no longer limited to subcontract work for local companies, but has expanded to include small group employment, supported community employment placement, and independent competitive placements within community businesses.  They are also on the forefront of community integration where 30 individuals leave the facility on a daily basis to participate in community events and to volunteer at various organizations.

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Award sponsor Carolyn Schaefer, former Managing Director of Specialized Banking for York Traditions Bank, presented the inaugural Her Traditions Women’s Enrichment Award to Jody Shaffer of the YWCA of Hanover.  

New for 2019, the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce collaborated with York Traditions Bank to create the Her Traditions Women’s Enrichment Award. The Hanover area is home to women in a variety of philanthropic, entrepreneurial, and leadership roles. The chamber supports these women and acknowledges the unique challenges they face in everyday life, both in the workplace and in the community. As such, this award recognizes an individual who has enriched the life or lives of women in the greater Hanover area.

An alumni of Hanover High School and York College, Shaffer has served as Executive Director of the YWCA Hanover since 2014. Prior to joining the YWCA, she spent 15 years with the Hanover Area YMCA where she served in the roles of COO, Associate Executive Director, and Senior Program Director of Youth and Family.

In her five years as leader of the YWCA, Shaffer has been instrumental in turning this vital nonprofit around with her vision and drive. She stabilized the organization, grew the services and staff, and added programs to serve the unique needs of women…such as Girls Loving Life, the Women’s Power Breakfast, and just last month, Emerge - the first ever YWCA Hanover’s Women’s Conference.

 

The Hanover Chamber would like to thank event sponsors APPI Energy, Doceo, and KLK Welding, award sponsors Penn National Insurance, WellSpan Health, York Traditions Bank, and 1st Ed Federal Credit Union, and photo sponsor Remembrances by Kevin Photography. Additional photos from the event can be found here.

The mission of the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce is to deliver value to members and advance the interests of the business community.  For more information, visit www.hanoverchamber.com.