Presiding over his first Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting as its president, David Strash sounded an upbeat, optimistic note Wednesday.
In fact, the whole tone of the luncheon and awards ceremony at The Club at Strawberry Creek was jovial.
“We are the Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce, with the key word being ‘area,’” Strash said in his opening remarks. “We work closely with the city and the county, and we want to be visible and involved in the community.”
Noting he was “born and raised in Kenosha, and I love it here,” Strash reminded the assembled group that “we couldn’t have a better location. We’re on a beautiful lake and smack dab between Milwaukee and Chicago.”
Strash noted the Chamber, marking its 105th annual meeting, has 685 members from the business community, educational organizations and nonprofit groups “and we hope to increase our membership over the next year.”
During the event, the Chamber gave out its annual awards:
Ambassador of the Year: Christine Lindenberg-Nowland of Wine Shop at Home.
Lindenberg-Nowland joined the Chamber in 2012 and became an ambassador for the organization in 2015, serving on several committees over the years.
Outside of her business work and her Chamber involvement, Lindenberg-Nowland is also a busy community and church volunteer.
While accepting the award, she told the crowd, “I’m a little uncomfortable getting this award because we work as a team. I accept this on behalf of all the Chamber Ambassadors.”
“Success in business is just like success in life: It starts with just showing up. Our team shows up,” she said.
Community Partner Award: Snap-on Inc.
Michael Bond, who works in Strategic Sourcing at Snap-on, accepted the award, noting the company has been at 2801 80th St. since shortly after its founding.
“Snap-on chose a site on the south end of Kenosha in 1930, with the help of the Chamber,” he said, adding that the company — which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary with a huge celebration (delayed a year due to COVID-19) — is looking to expand its operations here.5
“We are committed to Kenosha because Kenosha is committed to us,” he said.
Best Place to Work: Kenosha Beef International/Birchwood Foods
Kimberly Molinaro, the employee health and safety coordinator for Birchwood Foods, accepted the award “on behalf of Dennis Vignieri and the Vignieri family. They really invest in their employees.”
The family-owned company was founded in 1936 by Frank Vignieri and has grown to four manufacturing facilities in three states and more than a thousand employees.
“We are thrilled the Chamber has honored us with this award,” Molinaro said, “and we owe it to the amazing individuals who come to work every day.”
Beautification Awards: City of Kenosha’s Downtown Parking Structure and Pleasant Prairie History Museum.
These awards “come about from us just going around the community and paying attention,” Strash said. “While you don’t usually think of a parking structure for a Beautification Award, the Downtown structure is so well done and is so needed. We really appreciate it.”
The $8 million, five-level parking garage at 56th Street and Eighth Avenue opened in March, offering free public parking, along with some leased spaces for Herzing University and the Stella Hotel.
Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian accepted the award Wednesday, noting the parking garage “is just one of many new buildings you’ll see in town. There are a lot of exciting things happening.”
Antaramian also gave a shout-out in his remarks to the other Beautification Award winner, the Pleasant Prairie Historical Society, for its renovation of the 1927 Dublin School at 3875 116th St. The two-room brick building is now the Pleasant Prairie History Museum.
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