Impact awards recognize business, community service | Local News

Ben Bush urged 250 people attending breakfast Friday to consider how they can contribute to their community and make a difference.

Bush, Forward Lawrence’s executive director who oversees the Lawrence County Economic Development Corp. and Lawrence County Regional Chamber of Commerce, was the emcee for the annual Forward Lawrence Impact Awards program, which featured a breakfast buffet at the New Englander banquet center to honor individuals who’ve contributed to the economic health of the county.

Some municipalities also received checks for future projects through a program known as Leadership Lawrence County presented by Paul Bucciarelli.

Eight Lawrence County business leaders were chosen this year as the Forward Lawrence/ Lawrence County Economic Development Impact Award winners. The awards were presented by county planning director Amy McKinney and Sam Huston, market president of Huntington National Bank.

The winners were:

ELHAM MIDDLE

EASTERN FOODS INC.

Abdou and Elyse Saada, owners of Elham Restaurant, Go Pita Go and Pita A Sandwich Shop, accepted the award. Shortly after Saada’s family emigrated from Syria to New Castle in 1999, Abdou, his mother Elham, father Wajeb and sister Razan worked together to begin their American dream of owning a business.

Abdou and Elyse’s passion extends to community service, as they support multiple volunteer organizations including the City Rescue Mission and they are sponsors of high school sports countywide.

Both pita restaurants participate in a program that encourages the hiring of individuals with special needs.

According to Abdou, the family restaurant started in the Lawrence Village Plaza and moved into the former Medure’s Restaurant in 2014.

“This is my home,” Abdou said, “and who doesn’t want their home to grow?”

BERNER AIR CURTAINS

Berner Air Curtains was founded in the 1950s by Christian and Georgia Berner and started with 17 employees. Today, the company headquartered in Shenango Township is a third-generation family business employing more than 140 people as a market-leading global provider of commercial and industrial air curtains.

Recently, Berner installed a one-gigabyte solar array on the rooftop of its building to reinforce its commitment to sustainability. The system generates 160 percent of the company’s energy needs and is designed to accommodate future expansion. Excess energy, meanwhile, is sent back to First Energy.

Berner matches employee donations to organizations of the employee’s choice and also gives a percentage of its profits to charitable organizations in the community such as ARISE, Rotary, Youth organizations and the City Rescue Mission. It also participates each year in the United Way Day of Caring.

“Community is one of our core values,” said Joe Miller, the company’s plant manager. He accepted the award with Bill Baker, supply chain manager, and Denise Grady, CFO. Dave Rimbey, CEO, also attended the event.

SIMPLE LIFE AMISH TOURS

When Susan and Joe Hougelman owned The Tavern in New Wilmington, customers typically would ask, “Where can we see the Amish?”

She would politely point them in a direction but realized that she could fill an unmet need in the community by doing more, so she founded Simple Life Amish Tours in 2012.

Susan befriended the Amish community initially by inviting families to The Tavern for meals who quickly invited her into their homes.

Since then, Susan has conducted more than 8,000 tours of Amish country with people from all 50 states and more than 150 countries.

“They want to see a Pittsburgh Steelers game and they want to visit the Amish,” she said.

All tours begin and end at Byler’s Quilts and Crafts in Volant, and typically include stops at an Amish farm, greenhouse, bakery and grocery store.

2024 CIVIC LEADER

OF THE YEAR AWARD

BOBBY PRESTON

Bobby Preston started working at his father’s Preston Motors Toyota dealership on Wilmington Road in 2006, around the time when the industry was shifting to computer-based internet sales.

The Preston Auto Group includes 10 locations in New Castle, Boardman, Ohio and Erie, offering 13 automotive brands and employing nearly 500 people, including 300 in Lawrence County.

The company has donated more than $2 million to local nonprofits and was financially instrumental in the creation of the Y-Zone in Neshannock Township.

The Preston Auto Group also has funded improvements at Pearson Park and donates to the United Way of Lawrence County, the New Castle Christian Academy, the Shenango Recreation Center, a New Wilmington facade program, the Lawrence County Community Action Partnership and the New Castle School of Trades where it often looks to the school’s graduates for employment.

2024 CIVIC LEADER OF

THE YEAR IMPACT AWARD

DR. KATHY BRITTAIN RICHARDSON

Dr. Kathy Brittain Richardson was named Westminster College’s 15th president on July 1, 2016.

During her eight-year tenure, she has led faculty through the collaborative development of a student-focused strategic plan.

Under her leadership, the college has strengthened its academic programs and completed more than $45 million in campus improvements, including the renovation and expansion of the Hoyt Science Center, the addition of three new athletic fields, renovations in the Memorial Field House and Wallace Memorial Chapel and significant upgrades in several residence halls. Richardson said in a video that more renovations are planned for the Hoyt Science Center.

Richardson is proud of the Westminster Entrepreneurship Center, which annually provides up to 90 students an opportunity to gain real-world experience with small businesses in the county.

She is an active member and advocate of the New Wilmington Economic Development Corporation.

THE ROBERT DELSIGNORE AWARD FOR LEADERSHIP, PUBLIC SERVICE

LORETTA SPIELVOGEL

Loretta Spielvogel began her career in public service in 1985 as a patrol officer in the New Castle Police Department. During her 23-year tenure, she rose to the rank of lieutenant and became the first female in charge of the department’s juvenile bureau.

A Mahoningtown native, Spielvogel during her law enforcement career led a community policing program and worked as a drug education specialist. After she retired, Spielvogel worked as a liaison between juveniles, courts, families and social service agencies before being elected as a county commissioner in 2019.

THE SAM BIASUCCI LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR BOARD SERVICE

RANDY SILVERMAN

Randy Silverman’s parents, Judy and Lee Silverman, were community icons and Randy is following in their footsteps.

He attended the Forward Lawrence Impact Awards program reluctantly on Friday, saying he was there only because his mother would have wanted him to go and receive his award. Judy, a beloved and well-known member of the community, died Wednesday, only 4 1/2 months after Lee died on Nov. 21. Both lived to be 89 years old.

Klafter’s Inc. has been a family-owned and operated company since its founding in Youngstown in 1897. In 1911, founder Sam Klafter moved his cigar store business to the former McGowan Building in downtown New Castle. Morris Storch, Sam Klafter’s nephew and Judy Silverman’s father, took over the company in 1943 upon Sam Klafter’s death. Randy’s father, Lee, became involved with the business in 1960 and eventually purchased it.

Randy’s began his business career at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh and Sherwin-Williams in Cleveland. He returned to the area in 1993 and now represents the fourth generation of Klafter’s ownership.

Today, Klafter’s is a major distributor of convenience store products in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, and a national distributor of more than 300 brands of premium cigars.

Silverman serves on numerous boards in the region including ARISE, the UPMC Jameson/Horizon Foundation, the Lawrence County YMCA where he served as president of the board, the Lawrence Community Foundation and the Lawrence County Regional Chamber of Commerce, where he was board president from 2020 to 2022. Randy is also active on industry boards including the Pennsylvania Food Merchants and the Pennsylvania Distributors Association.

“It would be great to see a vibrant downtown with more independent shops. Let’s get some ‘base hits’ and build upon those successes,” he said.

EXCELLENCE IN ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT IMPACT AWARD

DIANE RICHARDSON

Diane Lynn Richardson, assistant director of economic development for Forward Lawrence, joined the organization in 1991. Diane has a lengthy list of accomplishments through collaboration with officials at the local, state and federal levels and in the private sector.

She has assisted with the development or management of seven Lawrence County business parks that collectively now generate more than $1.4 million in annual tax revenues. The assessed value of impacted real estate totals more than $100 million.

Currently, Richardson is administering Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project grants totaling $6.5 million of public investment in economic development projects in the county, with a total private investment of nearly $65 million.

Two of those projects are the Steelite warehouse expansion project in Neshannock Township and the Stonecrest Business Park in New Beaver Borough. The two projects combined have the potential to provide 1,100 jobs and more than 2 million square feet of industrial assets in the county.

Richardson also authored an application for the Shapiro Administration’s PA Sites Pilot Program for Stonecrest Business Park, to emphasize the need for pad-ready industrial sites. Her application was selected as one of about 30 finalists statewide.

Throughout her career, Richardson has been directly involved in creating nearly 200 grant applications that have secured more than $90 million in public investment in the county.

During COVID, she also administered $968,5000 in pandemic hospitality industry recovery dollars.

She also administers Forward Lawrence’s loan programs that encompass several smaller revolving loans and the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority’s commonwealth loans on behalf of Forward Lawrence, assisting industrial, commercial and retail businesses with building acquisitions, equipment and working capital.

dwachter@ncnewsonline.com