As the Ravenna Area Chamber of Commerce once again prepares for the annual Raven Awards Ceremony, it will revive the annual dinner that accompanied the ceremony for the first time since the COVID pandemic at the Ravenna Elks Lodge #1076 at 776 North Freedom Street on June 3 at 6 p.m.
“This is the first year that we are bringing back the sit-down dinner so we are excited about that,” RACC Executive Director Ryann Cline told The Weekly Villager on May 20. “This is an event that we recognize not only individuals that go above and beyond but also new businesses for 2025, new construction for 2025 and new renovations for 2025, so we recognize a whole slew.”
In total, the RACC will hand out between 40-50 awards to individual and business recipients of the Ravenna Community. Tickets are being sold for $50 with a purchase deadline of May 27.
According to Cline, the annual Raven awards not only shine a light on successes but things that have gone unnoticed.
“Sometimes it brings it to the forefront and sometimes shines a light on the community and just shows what Ravenna is truly about, so I think that there is a lot be said there,” she added. “It is a great opportunity to not only celebrate but educate the community in regard to what is truly going on.”
The Raven Awards are awarded in eight different categories, consisting of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Volunteer of the Year 2025, Citizen of the Year 2025, Young Entrepreneur 2025, New Construction 2025, New Renovation 2025, the Honorary Way Recipient 2026 and the Ravenna High School Senior Scholarships. As of now, Cline said that the RACC has yet to name a winner for the Honorary Way Recipient Award.
The Lifetime Achievement Award winner for this year is Connie Bennett, the Chief Executive Officer of Portage Community Bank.
“She has been a pillar of the community for years and is very deserving,” Cline said.
Other individual award winners include Brad Crislip, who won the Volunteer of the Year 2025, Larry Silenius as the Citizen of the Year 2025, and Zonuts and Lattes for the Young Entrepreneur 2025.
Cline said that there was no shortage of qualified candidates for each award.
“We get a lot of nominations, so it does take some time to go through those and really just discern who is really the deserving candidate,” she noted. “All of them are deserving and our Board of Directors takes that responsibility to select the winners.”
The New Construction and New Renovation 2025 Awards will consist of 24 new and current businesses, which reflect the continued economic resurgence of the Ravenna Community.
Overall, the RACC is recognizing 15 new businesses that opened their doors in Ravenna during the last calendar year.
“That is what a lot of time people don’t realize, they don’t realize ‘Hey I didn’t know that this business went into town, I didn’t know that this business is there’ so I think it does show that there is growth and forward movement for the Ravenna community,” said Cline.
The Ravenna High School Senior Scholarships will be awarded to six graduating seniors, Alexis Day, Kylie Hogan, Giana McKamey, Alexa Kaschalk, Kaydence Sanders and Kora Scalia.
All six students will receive scholarships of $500 which are in collaboration with the RACC and the City of Ravenna.
Cline said that in addition to the annual Raven Awards Ceremony, she highlighted how the return of the sit-down dinner will hopefully increase the excitement and attendance for what has been a celebration of community involvement and pride.
“I hope that people will embrace it and still attend and show up,” she said. “It is a great opportunity to get dressed up and share in the celebration, there will be a cash bar over at the Elks as well and there should be a very nice ceremony.”
