By Anna Skinner
Although the annual Lantern Awards presented by the Westfield Chamber of Commerce is not until Sept. 23, nominations and reservations are now being taken.
“You don’t have to be a chamber member (to nominate someone),” said Jack Russell, president of the chamber. “As a community member, you go to dinner somewhere and go to businesses all the time. A lot of people in our community are active and involved in a lot of things, so we want their voice to be heard … We want to make sure community is involved in it.”
Nomination categories include the Lantern, Luminary, Spark, Globe, Beacon, Wick, Chamber Champion, Shamrock Excellence, Exemplary Employee, STAR, Above and Beyond and Leading with an Attitude of Servitude awards. They encompass businesses, citizens, volunteers, city employees and more.
“The community can nominate anyone for any of these (awards),” Russell said. “We always try to make sure (the recipient) is someone new. We are getting bigger and bigger, and there could be people out there volunteering their time or doing great things in the community or business growing that we might not know about.”
Citizens can nominate multiple people for one award, but only one will be chosen for each category. A nomination form is available at lantern-awards.org.
The Lantern Awards, originally known as Community Night, began in 1982 and morphed into the Lantern Awards in 2007.
The event will be at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Palomino Ballroom, 481 S. C.R. 1200 E., Zionsville. Reservations are $60 and include dinner, a photo booth and live music by Matt Roush. A cash bar will be available.
“I love the Lantern Awards because we just focus on our community and all the great people and great businesses that are here,” Russell said.
Lantern Award 2015 Recipients:
- Lantern Award (Business of the Year): My Father’s Garden Health and Wellness
- Luminary Award (Celebrating Longevity): L.E. Isley and Sons, Inc.
- Spark Award (New Westfield Business): Rail Epicurean Market
- Globe Award (Outstanding Service Organization): Main Street Productions of Westfield, Inc.
- Beacon Award (Citizen of the Year): Curt Whitesell
- Wick Award (Volunteer of the Year): Larry Snapp
- Chamber Champion (Member that goes above and beyond): Dave Rocchio, The Rocchio Agency
- Shamrock Excellence Award (Westfield Washington Schools): Cindy Keever
- Exemplary Employee (City of Westfield): John Rogers
- STAR Award (Westfield Public Works Dept.): Phil Sundling
- Above and Beyond Award (City of Westfield Police Dept.): Scott Clouse
- Leading with Attitude of Servitude Award (City of Westfield Fire Dept.): Chad Everitt
