Ravenna – Ravenna merchants turned out enmasse for the Raven Awards Dinner on Tuesday, April 30th to show support for progress in the community.
The invocation to start the evening off was given by Bill Wisniewski, Director of Business Services for the school district, and it contained a message for the event that merchants are striving to achieve for their town’s future development, “Service to others.” He expressed the celebration is an example of how Ravenna is coming together to show gratitude with this mantra in mind.
Many individuals and businesses were honored throughout the evening which was hosted by the Ravenna Chamber of Commerce and held at the Elks Club. Twelve ‘New Business/New Construction’ recognitions for those that opened in 2018 were handed out. Recognized were All State – Jim Poptic; Bar 130; Equi-Steps; Home To You LLC; Icy Blast; Moksha Yoga & Meditation; Reincarnation America; State Farm – Eric Schlaubach; +Vibes Hair and Healing; West Main Street Winery; Ravenna 7 Movies and Smiters Rapra.
“If you are investing your time and money into the community this is the least we can do to honor you,” said Executive Director for the Chamber, Ryann Kuchenbecker.
It’s All Fine Consignment and Vista Veranda Senior Care Center were acknowledged for ‘New Renovation.’ This pertains to interior or exterior revamps of a building or public structure completed in 2018.
The ambience of the dinner and awards was a vibe of positive energy and sense of civic duty as melodic background music was performed live. Approximately, 180 people enjoyed dinner that had been provided by Guido’s Pizza prior to the awards ceremony.
Don Everett was named ‘Citizen of the Year’ for showing leadership and enterprise in his efforts to be a catalyst for the improvement of Ravenna. There was a standing ovation when he accepted his award. He thanked all the merchants for their involvement and stated, “The most valuable resource Ravenna has is its people.”
‘Volunteer of the Year’ was Patti Hicks for demonstrating the possibilities of how volunteers make a difference for the community. “It is always a pleasure to help and there are many opportunities to volunteer,” she said.
The ‘Honorary Award’ was very deservingly given to a non-profit organization called Raven Packs. They were created to address the issue of food-insecure students in the Ravenna School District. Their mission is to supply children from kindergarten through 5th grade with bags of food over the weekend and holiday breaks. Aleah Dunay, Andrea Morgan and Laura Wunderle accepted the award on behalf of Raven Packs. This program currently feeds approximately 255 food-insecure students, and after an impromptu fundraiser at the end of the awards program, over $10,000 was raised for the program, allowing the Raven Packs team to continue providing this amazing service for the kids.
Bill Wisniewski, who opened the event with the message of gratitude and service to others, was awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement.’ Wisniewski has shown leadership with area schools and in Ravenna for helping to influence the success and quality of life for residents. In the beginning when speaking in the context of appreciation he asked ‘Who do we say Thank you to, employers, spouses,…a local store clerk?’ Well, that night Ravenna said Thank you to Mr. Wisniewski!
