DUBOIS – Saturday night saw the DuBois community come together to honor three of its own at the annual Greater DuBois Area Chamber of Commerce Business Bash awards.
Three awards are presented each year, the Small Business of the Year Award, the Community Cup Award and the DuBois Area Jaycees Distinguished Service Award.
Those gathered at Treasure Lake’s Lakeview Lodge were welcomed by Executive Director Jodi August, who noted that nothing the chamber accomplishes could be done without the directors, staff and many volunteers who contribute to the chamber and its programs.
The state of the chamber presentation was given by Board Chairman Jamie Straub, who noted that the purpose of the chamber is to promote a favorable business climate and provide leadership economically in the community.
She said what DuBois has in its chamber is “second to none.” Straub also pointed out that this event and other events hosted by the chamber are a good opportunity to meet new people and challenged everyone to take the opportunity to introduce themselves to someone new and learn about what they do in the community.
She said she is excited to see what happens in the DuBois community in 2016 and encouraged everyone if they see an opportunity to get involved in supporting the community.
The first award presented was the Small Business of the Year 2015. Shannon Shaffer, who was presented the award last year for her business, Shannon’s Catering, presented the award to The Winery at Wilcox.
She said the winery opened in 1994 and is now one of the state’s largest wineries, producing 30 varieties and more than 70,000 gallons per year. Three generations of the Williams family participate in the business and their simple mission statement is “Do well, do good and have fun in the process.”
Jamie Williams accepted the award and said it was an honor to be chosen. He said their success has allowed them to contribute in many ways to the community and the employees drive what they do. He said his family feels passionate about supporting the community and also strive to do their best as a business.
The winner of the 2015 Community Cup was presented by Tom Gasbarre of Gasbarre Products to Goodwill Industries of North Central Pennsylvania. Gasbarre said this is its 50th anniversary year in the area, opening first in 1966 on Park Avenue.
Goodwill, he said, encourages others to improve their community and encourages positive community leadership and is there to help people face the many challenges in their lives and overcome them.
Their mission, Gasbarre said, is to put people to work, which is a key to success in life. He said Goodwill has also developed strong relationships with other organizations in the area, and all without public funding.
Gasbarre said it is a green organization, recycling as much as possible, is established as a work-readiness program with Life Skills classes in nine school districts and has also created a greenhouse program and operates an online retail business, www.shopgoodwill.com.
Ray Donati, president of Goodwill Industries, said he could not accept the award without bringing up two of his employees to also accept the award with him, Billy Brownell and Donald Keiffer.
He said he was very humbled by the award. “It is amazing where we have come,” he said, adding that in presenting this award, the community awards itself as Goodwill is the community. There are 22 stores in the North Central Pennsylvania area with two more in the pipeline and as of Friday there are 581 employees.
“It’s more than just the stores. Tonight it’s about thanking the people,” Donati said, adding that without his staff he couldn’t do anything. The biggest thank you was to everyone who donates to Goodwill, and he invited anyone to stop at the facility in Falls Creek and see what is involved.
State Rep. Matt Gabler, R-75 of DuBois, then presented both Goodwill and the Winery at Wilcox with citations from the House of Representatives thanking them for their service to the community.
The final award was the DuBois Area Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, presented by Dr. Chris Shaw, president of the Jaycees, to James Curtis.
Shaw noted that the award recipient must meet three criteria: Outstanding Community Service, Success in Chosen Vocation and Service to God and Church. He said it was difficult to write anything about a humble person such as Curtis and had to get information from outside sources. One person told him that Curtis was the greatest of friends and mentors, he said.
The eldest of eight children, Curtis was used to hard work and excelled at school in Punxsutawney. One of the early obstacles he faced was having to move from the familiar Catholic school he attended to a public high school when his school closed. From there he attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as the first member of his family to attend college, and graduated summa cum laude.
Over the years, Curtis has served on many community boards, including Jefferson Manor, the Punxsutawney and DuBois libraries, the DuBois Area YMCA and so on. He and his family moved to DuBois in 1997 where he co-chaired the capital campaigns for the YMCA.
When Msg. Krebs was concerned about the quality of education for area Catholic students, Curtis helped lead the campaign to create what are now the DuBois Central Catholic schools. In 2000, he was awarded the Knight of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II.
Curtis humbly accepted the award and noted the DuBois community has many assets and everyone is called to be stewards of those assets. He noted his experiences at a Catholic school prepared him when the nuns would remind them that “service is a gift to yourself and others.” He also thanked his family for their time and sacrifices over the years and that it is humbling to be part of a great tradition.