Marietta chamber bestows awards at annual dinner | News, Sports, Jobs

Photos by James Dobbs
Hugh Coffman was presented with the Washington County Council of Cooperatives Agricultural Award by last year’s award recipient Bill Stacy at the 2022 Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner.

MARIETTA – Over 600 people gathered Monday night at the Dyson-Baudo Recreation Center for the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce’s 107th annual dinner.

Century 21, Huntington Bank, Marietta College and Pickering Associates, as well as other chamber members, set up booths along the perimeter of the recreation center for people to learn more about them.

Gary O’Brien, 2021 MACC Board chair, welcomed the crowd.

“I look to the future of the chamber positively and I believe that with the help of our many supporters and partners, we can help contribute to the continuing success of Marietta and the surrounding area,” said O’Brien. “We can’t do this alone, we have a board of directors that will help us through the coming years to get through all this and also make the chamber a better place.”

Four awards were presented at the chamber dinner.

“The individuals honored tonight have common traits. They believe in hard work, perseverance, giving back to their community and they believe that we can shape our future,” said O’Brien.

Last year’s award recipient Bill Stacy, with Stacy Family Farms, presented the Washington County Council of Cooperatives Agricultural Award to Hugh Coffman.

Coffman was an FFA teacher at both Vincent and Warren High Schools. He later became the assistant superintendent of Warren High School and was the Director of the Washington County Career Center from 1981 to 1983. He also served as a member of the Washington County Board of Education.

“This is exciting,” said Coffman. “I have been blessed. I was raised in a three generation home, and now I’m living in a three generation home. And my life has been highlighted, I guess because of being associated with young people as a teacher of agriculture.”

Keri Dunn presented the Elizabeth A. Hadler Woman of the Year award to Rose Logston.

Logston has been a member of the Belpre Historical Society, the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Mohican Memorial Shrine, and a 47-year member of the General Foundation of Women’s Clubs.

“Thank you all, and I thank everybody who volunteers in their communities and around the world. We make the place a better place to be,” said Logston.

Tasha Werry, last year’s award recipient, presented the Gabe Zide Citizen of the Year award to Ken Strahler.

Strahler served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1965 to 1971. He started his own masonry company, Ken Strahler Masonry, in 1977. He has also served on the Home Builders Association of Washington County board of directors for over 20 years.

Scott Cantley, the 2021 award recipient, presented the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year award via video to Chuck Sulerzyski, the President and CEO of Peoples Bank He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from New York University and his MBA in Marketing from Fordham University Graduate School of Business.

Sulerzyski said Peoples Bank is very grateful in terms of the things it has been able to accomplish.

“We have a goal to become the best community bank in America,” he said. “We try to get better everyday, it’s a constant effort.”

Joe Deloss, owner and founder of the chain restaurant Hot Chicken Takeover, spoke about his fried chicken empire. Deloss shared his story of how Hot Chicken Takeover came to be. Deloss and his wife tried some hot chicken driving home from Nashville, and realized “there is nothing like this in central Ohio.” He told his wife that they should make hot chicken in Columbus. His wife asked him if he needed anything from Bed Bath and Beyond one night and he texted her a picture of an $80 tabletop fryer. He started throwing parties at their house and started frying chicken. Then Deloss and his wife started selling chicken out of the side of a USDA meat-packing plant. Hot Chicken Takeover now has seven franchises, and is in the process of opening five more restaurants.

James Dobbs can be reached at [email protected]