Chamber honors local small businesses

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated even more small businesses this year with its 2012 Salute to Small Business Luncheon held at Willow Bend Country Club.

Chamber President/CEO Susan Munroe noted the Chamber’s decision to increase the number of categories — and businesses — to be honored this year. “We knew having a new focus was the right thing to do,” Munroe said, “to recognize more small businesses instead of fewer.”

More businesses honored likely also translated into larger attendance, as Munroe announced that a total of 155 people attended this year’s event, versus 85 in 2011.

This year’s event had eight categories: Spirit of Entrepreneurship, Agricultural Enterprise, Charitable Non-Profit, Generations, Start-Up, Downtown Champion, Woman-Owned Business and Exporting Excellence (click here for individual photos of winners).

Winners in the Spirit of Entrepreneurship category were Rehab Fab and Northwest Ohio Welch Trophy.

Rehab Fab, located at 113 W. Main St. in downtown Van Wert and owned by Dawn and Jeff Cooper, was created as a retail store that offers locally made home décor and “repurposed” furniture, as well as furniture repairs.

Northwest Ohio Welch Trophy, 1112 S. Washington St., a business begun more than 40 years ago by Hall of Fame Coach Al Welch with a store in Defiance, started a Van Wert store in 2000 run by Rob Welch, Al’s son. The business provides screenprinting, trophies and plaques, sporting goods, embroidery, uniforms and sports shoes.

Winners in the Agricultural Enterprise category were Kernel Cooper’s Corn Maze and the Kenn-Feld Group.

Kernel Cooper’s was started 11 years ago by Rod Cooper and the late Leslie Cooper at 9867 Mendon Road. The business promotes family fun through its elaborate corn mazes, with this year’s maze a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

The Kenn-Feld group has been around for seven years and offers John Deere farm, commercial and residential equipment for sale. The business has 200 employees and has added 14 since November 2011.

In the Charitable Non-Profit category, awards went to the YWCA and the Pregnancy Life Center.

Nearly 100 years old (96), the YWCA has undergone a number of changes since its founding in 1916 by local philanthropist George Marsh. The YWCA, organized to promote women’s fitness, now provides support in the social service area through its Summer Food and Transitional Housing programs, as well as fitness opportunities for men, women and children. The Transitional Housing program, which serves homeless women in Van Wert and neighboring counties, is an offshoot of a program for housing women that goes back 80 years.

The Pregnancy Life Center, a relatively newcomer to the community, compared to the YWCA, with 13 years of existence, provides free pregnancy tests, and material and educational support for pregnant women in the community.

Winners in the Generations Award category, which honors companies that have gone through multiple generations of ownership, were Braun Industries and Purmort Brothers Insurance Agency.

Braun Industries, makers of quality, hand-built ambulances and EMS squad vehicles, now has its third generation of owners, going back to founder Charles Braun in 1961.

Purmort Brothers Insurance was established in 1876 and has gone through many generations of Purmorts, up to current owner Tim Purmort, who has been with the agency 40 years, and the upcoming generation, represented by Michele Purmort-Mooney and Leah Purmort-Treece, who have been with the business eight years.

The agency provides a variety of property and casualty insurance products for business and personal risks, as well as group and individual life and health insurance products.

Those honored in the Start-Up category include A&A Mechanical and Ink Again.

A&A Mechanical, located at 717 E. Crawford St., was begun in 2009 by owner Tyler Holdgreve and provides plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration services. A&A, which stands for “Affordable & Accurate”, was started to fill a void he saw when Schumm Plumbing and other HVAC businesses closed.

Ink Again, located at 115 N. Washington St., and begun by Sharon and Dennis Cummings, provides hand-refilled printer ink and toner to local businesses and individuals. The business opened in 2008 and exists to save customers money on printer inks and toner.

Winners in the Downtown Champion category, for businesses in the downtown area, were Shutterbugg Photography and Main Street Ice Cream Parlor.

Owner Denise Davis has owned Shutterbugg for 20 years. Located at 103 W. Main St., the business, originally started as a one-hour photo processing shop and photo studio in 1986, is now basically a portrait studio.

Main Street Ice Cream Parlor, located at 107 E. Main St., has been in existence for six years and provides ice cream and a variety of sandwiches, salads and soups to its customers. The business is owned by MaryJude and Marvin Vetter.

In the Woman-Owned Business category, winners were Kim Hohman’s DanceWorks and Century Trading Company.

Kim Hohman’s DanceWorks, started by Hohman in 1996, provides dance, cheer and tumbling instruction, as well as dance outfits and shoes. The business has 14 employees, an increase of three over last year. The business began in the downtown area and later expanded to a state-of-the-art facility at 11199 Van Wert-Decatur Road. DanceWorks also grew from 75 students to 425 students in that time period.

Century Trading Company, owned by Marcia Germann for the past 10 years, was begun in 1968. It provides retail and recycling services to industrial, contractor and agricultural supply businesses, as well as metal recycling. The business has 18 employees and is located at 1224 W. Main St.

There was only one winner in the final category: Exporting Excellence.

Advanced Biological Marketing, located at 375 Bonnewitz Ave., was established by CEO Dan Custis in 2000. The company provides natural seed coatings and inoculants for all crops and currently has 24 employees, an increase of six in the last year alone, as well as $1.4 million in sales in the 12 months ending June of this year. ABM has gone from a sales and marketing company to developing its own products that are now sold worldwide.

Other companies nominated include Pond Seed, P&L Fertilizer, Hickory Sticks Golf Club/Mulligan’s Pub & Bistro, Young’s Waste Service, Universal Lettering, The Salvation Army, Van Wert County Council on Aging, Wallace Plumbing, Nicko’s Pizza, Touches of Times, Fettig’s Flowers, Collins Fine Foods, Van Wert Propane, The Good Earth and DeShia.

Following the award presentations, those attending viewed a slide show created by Vantage Interactive Multimedia instructor Jill Dewert and her students.

The event was sponsored by Citizens National Bank and Times-Bulletin Media.