It was a beautiful night of celebrating local success and volunteerism at the Capitol Civic Center during this year’s Chamber of Manitowoc County Awards of Distinction ceremony.
Starting off the night was the presentation of the coveted Athena Award, which went to Donna Firman.
She was unable to be in attendance, but she is someone who has given of her time and efforts in many different areas, most notably with Prevent Suicide Manitowoc County, NAMI, and CORE Treatment Services.
Then, the Chamber gave the Education Impact Award to Melanie Shimek of Manitowoc Lincoln High School for her work in shaping the future generation of leaders.
Shimek told Seehafer News she is, “Absolutely grateful. Honestly, anything I have done as a teacher, it’s a direct impact of the community. Not only the community but my students. My students are the most phenomenal humans on the face of the planet. I am privileged to work with them.”
Lacey Silbernagel was then named the Volunteer of the Year.
She has been volunteering her time for the better part of two decades, which she said is vital to the success of a community.
“There’s so many people that need our help in this community,” she told us. “In the program I have been involved with, the leadership committee, working with high school students and people who work in the businesses in Manitowoc County, it has been great for people to learn about what we all have here.”
The Manitowoc/Two Rivers YMCA was given the Healthy Workplace Award for all they do in promoting health, wellness, and safety in the community.
Julie Grossman, the CEO of the local Y told us they are always looking for new ways to better serve the community.
“We just opened a 24-hour wellness, because we recognized that with the pace of life, and how things have been upended by so many people and what their schedules look like, that usual hours don’t work for everybody,” Grossman said.
Earning the Young Professional of the Year award was John Biely.
He serves as the Manitowoc County EMS Association Vice President and spends his time coaching basketball and softball at Mishicot High School.
He was completely taken aback by the award, saying “It’s crazy! I told Karen Nichols at the (Future 15) banquet, I don’t like talking about myself. So, the fact that my wife wrote my speech, it was a lot easier for her. It’s amazing.”
The prestigious Joseph P. Schmitt “Speak Up” Award went to a couple who have done a ton to promote all of the amazing things happening in our community, Tina and Jason Prigge.
“To receive the award from Denise and Rob is such an honor,” Tina said. “As Jason mentioned in his remarks, we are just shining the light on an already incredible community.”
Jason echoed that sentiment, saying “The reason we call it the Coolest Coast…it’s not because of the landscape, it’s not because of even the business or the government here. It’s because of the people.”
The Collaboration Award was given to Wyatt Kuether, the CEO of The Production Farm and Donna Firman, who worked together to bring the inspirational film Mt. Lawrence to the area.
Kuether spoke about the experience of bringing such an impactful film to the Franciscan Center for Music Education.
“We really wanted to bring that into the community here, especially with the youth that we work with, and the people that we work with, to bring their story to this community where I am very blessed to be able to help serve,” he said. “To get to do this with Prevent Suicide was the kicker. It was amazing.”
A new member of the Lakeshore community was named the Large Business or Industry of the Year.
Robinson Inc opened its Manitowoc plant in 2022, and as Robinson’s Director of Manufacturing Services Jamie Tilkens tells us, they plan on continuing to grow.
“We are planning a $3.1 million addition right now…at the Manitowoc facility, and that is going to provide growth,” he revealed. “It’s for future work, and it’s work that we have booked into 2024 and 2025.”
Mike Howe Builders was named the Small Business of the Year.
The local construction company has been around since 2004, and recently expanded its showroom.
Mike tells us about what is next for him and his company.
“The main focus will be that housing development now, and there’s always my eye on something,” he noted. “The big thing I am pushing right now is to work with the high schools to promote young talent.”
Closing out the night was the presentation of the Non-Profit of the Year Award, which was given to InCourage for their work in helping victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Executive Director Sara Meier spoke about why it is important to have an organization like theirs in the community.
“Domestic violence and sexual assault don’t discriminate. They affect all of us,” she said. “We all know someone who has been the victim of those kinds of abuse, so we need to have an organization that serves survivors.”
Congratulations to all nominees and winners, and thank you to Pizza Garden, and Izumi Sushi for providing appetizers, and Holla for providing dessert.
