MARIETTA, OH- The 106th annual dinner of the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce took place Monday evening on the campus of Marietta College. The event is generally held in March, but COVID-19 restrictions pushed back the event.
Awards were given out before and after keynote speaker Wally Kandel took the podium to say goodbye to the Marietta area. Kandel has relocated to Greenville, SC to serve as North America Director of Solvay Group Engineering and Construction. Kandel served as VP and as the site manager at the Solvay plant in Marietta for 14 years. He was named the Gabe Zide Citizen of the Year in 2019.
Kandel was recognized by many at the event. One of which was a proclamation by Congressman Bill Johnson on behalf of Wally Kandel.
"The recognition by these guys is a surprise and a little overwhelming to me," Kandel said. "I have tried to do a lot to help the community over the years and hopefully I have inspired others to do that tonight."
As for the MACC's annual awards, the 2021 Washington County Council of Cooperative Agricultural Award was presented to Stacy Family Farm by last year's recipients.
"I am kind of humbled but this is just something we do every day," said owner Bill Stacy whose family operates the farm. "I could not do it without my family."
The Gabe Zide Citizen of the Year Award was given to Tasha Werry of Building Bridges to Careers. Werry explained that it would be difficult to thank just one person for the help she has received over the years with BB2C.
"It takes a lot of people to stand up and participate to help local students," she said. "We are highly involved in Washington County with all of the school districts. We are actually creating a network of groups that are similar to Building Bridges to Careers in the region."
The ZONTA Elizabeth L. Hadler Woman of the Year was awarded to Barb Moberg. Moberg was unable to attend the event.
The final award was the Business Leader of the Year. Scott Cantley, CEO of Memorial Health Systems received this recognition.
"It is an incredible honor," he said. "The tradition of leadership in great in this town and it is really humbling to be a part of that. It is an honor to accept this award on behalf of a wonderful group of clinicians, caregivers, nurses, doctors and all of the supporting team it takes to care for this community."
The MACC also recognized former chamber ambassador David Howell. Howell passed away in December 2020. The Howell family accepted the honor on his behalf.
After a quick turnaround, the 107th annual meeting is planned to return to its original date in March. No official date has been announced for 2022.
