Chamber honors local small businesses

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

From companies that have been in business a year or less to a local insurance agency celebrating its 140th year, the Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce honored them all Friday during its 11th annual Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon at Willow Bend Country Club.

Enterprise recognition was given to several new businesses, while awards were handed out to finalists in six categories: Spirit of Entrepreneurship, Charitable Non-Profit, Service Industry Showcase, Retail Champion, Palate Pleaser, and Community Champion.

Winner in the Spirit of Enterprise category was M & M RV Electronics, a company founded in 1995 by Mark Bayus as M & M Audio back in 1995 in Bayus’ garage in Ohio City. The company, which employees four people, including Bayus and his wife and son, is the perfect example of a company that has evolved to survive as industries change.

“It’s been a very exciting ride and I’m just really, really looking forward to what’s next,” said Bayus, who also praised local banker Pat Ryan for giving his business the financial support it needed over the years to expand to its present two buildings.

Bayus also noted that it has been fun meeting new people, with many of his customers coming from all over the United States.

“We enjoy telling them about our community,” he said, noting that his company supports a number of local events and groups, including the annual Lambert Days celebration, and the Ohio City Relay of Life team.

Other finalists in the category were McCoy’s Flowers and Times Bulletin Media.

Winner of the Charitable Non-Profit category was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Auglaize, Mercer & Van Wert Counties.

The organization was begun 27 years ago, in 1989, by Jim Geiger, then-director of the Auglaize County Juvenile Probation Department, after seeing a need for youth mentoring in that county. The organization expanded to Mercer County in 1990 and to Van Wert County in 2005.

Executive Director Molly Hay thanked local residents for their support of the organization over the last 11 years.

“We’ve been able to expand some of our programs in Van wert County because of your support,” she noted.

Other finalists this year were United Way of Van Wert County and the Van Wert County Humane Society.

Winner in the Service Industry Showcase category was Wallace Plumbing & Underground LLC, a company founded by plumber Todd Wallace in 2006 following the death of his then-employer, Dick Schumm.

Wallace said hard work and excellent training from Schumm, as well as a commitment to craftsmanship, quality materials, and personal service, have helped his business prosper and expand.

“My entire life, I’ve been surrounded by hard-working people,” Wallace said in his application. “The kind of people with common sense in their heads and dirt on their hands.”

One of those people, Schumm, would make a difference in what did for a living.

“In 10 years, I learned more from him than I would ever learn from a lifetime in trade school … from the hands-on turning wrenches to the brainwork of the plumbing business,” Wallace added, while also praising his employees, who he said were instrumental in the success of his business.

Wallace Plumbing also is involved in the community, providing support for a number of local organizations and entities.

The other finalists in the category were Laurie’s Naturescapes and Moore’s Insurance Services.

This year’s winner in the Retail Champion category is MOD Boutique, a company started four years ago by Emily Banks that now has stores in Van Wert and Defiance. The women’s clothing and accessories store has grown to eight employees in just a few years, with Banks noting that her company strives to provide great customer service and making its customer “looking and feeling her best.”

Banks said she was honored to accept the award, “in particular because it does reflect the approach we have tried to take in our business.”

Other finalists in the category were BHS Gunshop and Chuck & Deb’s Bait Shop.

The winner of the Palate Pleaser category was Truly D’Vine Bread Company, which purchased the former Butler’s Bakery and has expanded both the culinary offerings and the actual store size in the two years it has been in business.

Owners Melody and Scott Hileman now employ 13 people and offer doughnuts, cakes and other desserts, fried chicken, sandwiches, salads, and deli meats and cheeses among its many menu items.

The company also purchased an adjacent store and remodeled it into a dining area for the business.

Melody Hileman thanked Chamber President/CEO Susan Munroe and Main Street Van Wert Program Manager Adam Ries for their help and support over the past two years.

“I just want to say thanks to everybody: thanks to Susan; thanks to Adam, he’s been our right hand,” she said. “My employees are great and thanks to everybody for shopping there.”

Ries said his support is not just in his capacity as MSVW program manager. “I’ve tried everything on their menu … twice!”

Other finalists in the category were Ohio City Express Carryout and Willow Bend Country Club.

The final category was won by Purmort Brothers Insurance Agency, which was started in 1876 by four brothers: Frank, Clyde, Sanford, and Charles Purmort Sr. to provide local service for the fledgling Van Wert County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which later became Central Insurance Companies, whose home office is in Van Wert.

The company is now run by Timothy Purmort, grandson of Charles Sr., and daughters Michele Purmort-Mooney and Leah Purmort-Treece. Leah Treece praised the local community for being a good place to operate a business.

“Van Wert is a great community and everybody works hard to make it a great place to own a business, to live, to raise kids, and to be a part of a great community,” she said.

The company has provided significant support to a number of community organizations, including county schools, the local American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, youth sports, the Van Wert County Historical Society, and several service clubs, including Rotary, Optimists, and Van Wert Service Club.

She added that it was amazing that Purmort Brothers is celebrating its 140th year in business.

“It’s emotional because I’m proud of where we’ve been, and we’re really, really excited about where we’re going in the future,” Treece said.

Other finalists in the category were Hair to Stay and Lee Kinstle GM Sales & Service.

Also honored on Friday were businesses in their first year of operation. Those include Anytime Fitness, Apex Clean Energy, Diamond Mine Billiards, Eberle Photography, Elite Interiors, Gen-X Training Studio, Kitchens & Bath Plus, Schrader Realty LLC, and TAG Menswear.

Sponsors for the event Citizens National Bank and Times Bulletin Media.