Hanover Chamber Names 2020 Business Award Recipients and Educators of the Year
The Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Business Awards Ceremony virtually throughout the month of March. The event was presented by APPI Energy and KLK Welding.
After cancelling their November 2020 event due to COVID-19, the Chamber decided to take the event virtual, celebrating with a video series on social media throughout the whole month of March.
In addition to naming Educators of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Positive Action Award, and the Her Traditions Women’s Enrichment Award, the Chamber recognized UPMC Hanover and WellSpan Health with the Community Leader Award.
The Chamber recognized Member Anniversaries including:
5 years: Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics, Inc.; Aero Energy; All Shined Up Car Wash; Architecture Workshop, Inc.; ASIX Quality, LLC; CORE Design Group, LLC; Courtyard by Marriott Gettysburg; Edward Jones - Brandon J. Smith; Hanover Barbershop Chorus; Martin Foot & Ankle; Michael Gray Painting; Sturgill & Associates, LLP; Thrivent Financial - Patricia Hegberg; Woodforest National Bank- Eisenhower
10 years: Dr. Walter Maust; iNet Technology Group, LLC; Landscape Supply Yard of Hanover; Ring Container Technologies; Stock and Leader, LLP;
15 years: American Heart Association; B & P Roofing, LLC; Hanover Area Human Resource Association; Martin's Potato Chips, Inc.; United Electric Supply; Visiting Angels; Warehouse Gourmet Bistro & Brewpub
25 years: Hoffman Homes for Youth; Minuteman Press of Hanover; Siegman Forced Air Systems, Inc.
50 years: Dacco Erectors, Inc.; Dorr Law Offices; McClarin Plastics, LLC; Miller-Hanover, Inc.; Panebaker Funeral Home & Cremation Care Center, Inc.; Robert G. Miller, Inc.
60 years: Barley Snyder; Hanover Public School District; Huston Fox, Financial Advisory Services, LLC
70 years: Clarks Americas, Inc.; Vulcan Materials Company
The 2020 Educators of the Year included Jim Shaffer, South Western School District; Nick Minnich, Hanover Public School District; Jennifer Knechtmann, Delone Catholic School; Kristen Henning, Spring Grove Area School District; and Jennifer Spencer, Conewago Valley School District.
Award sponsor Penn National presented the Small Business of the Year award to The Markets at Hanover.
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.
Under the leadership of owner Liz Johnides, the Markets at Hanover took a well-known building and turned it into a business incubator. In December 2013, The Markets at Hanover opened, offering small businesses a place to begin, expand, or explore a dream. Today, this year-round, climate-controlled building is home to around 30 small businesses.
Continuing to grow, expand, and develop even during a pandemic, the Markets at Hanover recently proceeded forward with its plans to nearly double their parking lot capacity, add solar to the building, and add a brewery and brew pub scheduled to open this year.
Always giving back to the community in some way, Johnides has served on various boards within the community including: True North Wellness Services, The Chamber of Gettysburg & Adams County, and the Adams County Community Foundation. Johnides currently serves as the Vice President of the Sweet Charities Committee. She was also the 2019 winner of the Hanover Chamber’s Community Leader Award, which is a true testament to her dedication to the Hanover area.
Many small businesses have grown and expand under the leadership of Johnides and her team. A perfect example of that expansion while at the Market is Artisans & Oak Wood Fired Pizza. Artisans & Oak started their business at the Markets and will soon realize their dream of opening a stand-alone restaurant with a liquor license. Many more businesses will share stories like this one in the years to come, all thanks to the Markets at Hanover.
Award sponsor Barley Snyder presented the Entrepreneur of the Year award to John Bailey, President of Bailey Coach.
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.
Following his family’s footsteps into the travel industry, John Bailey started Bailey Coach in 1998. Nearly 25 years later, Bailey Coach has grown to be just one of several Bailey companies dedicated to serving the community.
When the Covid-19 Pandemic hit, it decimated the travel and tourism industries. Bailey Coach was no exception, losing nearly 90% of its transportation business. Wanting to protect his employees and their livelihoods, Bailey created a brand-new business offering the same disinfecting services to South Central PA that he had been using since 2017. That business became Bailey’s Zero Hazard, a thriving disinfecting business that has allowed Bailey to bring back nearly half of his staff members. In just six months, Bailey’s Zero Hazard has already surpassed one million dollars in sales through disinfecting offices, vehicles, and more in a matter of minutes—including over 800 first responder vehicles that Bailey’s Zero Hazard has disinfected free of charge.
We define an entrepreneur as “A person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of profit.” This definition embodies Bailey nearly perfectly. At every business undertaking he has germinated the idea and assumed the entirety of the risk—but never for the sole purpose of turning a profit. Bailey does it to create jobs, to change lives, and to improve our community at-large.
Award sponsor WellSpan Health presented the Positive Action Award to the Hanover Borough Police Department, Penn Township Police Department, and Hanover Area Fire and Rescue. 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.
2020 started off much the same as any other past year, but it quickly became a roller coaster. While "non-essential" workers were ordered to stay at home, all police and fire department personnel continued to faithfully report for duty. The police administration monitored and acted upon reports from the state and federal governments, which led to modifications and restrictions on the way they conducted day-to-day business, both on the streets and internally. Personnel continued to provide protection, while now facing an invisible enemy for which they could not turn away from and avoid.
Work of this kind is inherently dangerous and stressful. Despite this, these men and women choose this profession out of a sense of duty and the desire to help other people. 2020 was a year like no other, chock full of events that most responders would not imagine seeing in an entire lifetime, and yet, they faced it in a span of 10 months. What an extraordinary feat! Personnel of the Hanover Borough Police Department, Penn Township Police Department, and Hanover Area Fire and Rescue never once wavered in their commitment to providing services to the community in 2020. Their professionalism and resilience are an inspiration to us all, and they are more than deserving of this recognition.
Award sponsor Her Traditions presented the Women’s Enrichment Award to Dr. Barbara Rupp.
Newly added in 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.
Dr. Barbara Rupp has dedicated her life to service. She spent an entire career educating students, supporting teachers, and leading others in various roles, the least of which was as Superintendent of South Western School District. Barb has also served two six-year terms, 12 years as a member and past president of YWCA Hanover. Her fierce dedication to the YWCA mission is unparalleled.
In addition to the YWCA, Dr. Rupp has served on many other boards, a few of which are: Hanover Hospital (now UPMC Hanover), Guthrie Memorial Library, South Western Education Foundation, and more. She is currently the Vice President of Hanover Borough Council as well.
Dr. Rupp is a community convener, always working for the greatest good for all people. Her energy and enthusiasm runs deep and is truly infectious. Dr. Rupp has mentored countless others during her career in education, as a volunteer leader, and simply but most importantly, as a humble servant to others. She gives big, she lives big, and she goes big at all she endeavors to accomplish.
And finally, the staff and board of directors for the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce awarded the Community Leader Award to WellSpan Health and UPMC Hanover.
Over the past year, our healthcare workers have faced challenges like they have never seen. A year into the pandemic, these workers continue to stand on the frontlines battling the COVID-19 virus. They have continued to put themselves in the path of this virus day in and day out during this unprecedented crisis. Our doctors, nurses, technicians, EMTs, pharmacists—every single worker who supports patient care—has risen to the occasion.
The Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce presents this award to WellSpan Health and UPMC Hanover to thank them for the sacrifices their staff makes daily, but especially throughout this pandemic. Their dedication and commitment to our community deserves our deepest gratitude and admiration, and their diligence has saved countless lives.
The Hanover Chamber would like to thank event sponsors APPI Energy and KLK Welding, award sponsors Penn National Insurance, WellSpan Health, Her Traditions, and Barley Snyder.
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.
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