BEDFORD – Friday evening the Bedford Chamber of Commerce honored local businesses with awards for their accomplishments and community contributions.
The evening saw the Bedford Chamber Awards Dinner at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds host businesses and business professionals for a delicious meal, the presentation of the awards, and speaker Dr. Terry Goodin with the Department of Natural Resources.
Attending were many government officials, including Indiana State Senator Eric Koch, and Bedford’s own Mayor Sam Craig.
The night began at 5:30, with time for socializing, networking, and an open bar provided by Cedar Hill Catering. Shance Sizemore CEO of the Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, introduced the event, and the delicious meal, catered by Cedar Hills which was blessed by Sherwood Oaks of Bedford’s finest, Tim Thompson.
All present stood in respect as former mayor Shawna Girgis provided a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem.
The 4 under 40 award winners, Ashlynne Bender, Emily Webb, Apryl Kidd, and Sadie Miskuf, were announced at last month’s Bedford Young Professionals Bring Your Boss to Lunch event, but received their awards Friday at the dinner.
Each of the young women has an exemplary record of accomplishment and community involvement and is more than deserving of the award.
Dr. Terry Goodin spoke on the integral nature of rural communities and states like Indiana. “Rural communities are the backbone of our nation,” he said.
As part of the DNR, Goodin said that their focus is to “make sure rural America gets their piece of the pie.”
Rural America is responsible for the bulk of the nation’s food supply, yet certain designations designed to support rural communities are being used by non-rural areas across the country for their own benefit.
Dr. Terry Goodin, a friend of Senator Eric Koch, grew up on a family farm and has since committed his professional life to public service. He has done so in positions like School Superintendent at Crothersville Community Schools, a 20-year Indiana representative, a member of the Indiana General Assembly and State Budget Committee, he was Vice-president of the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as a member of many other committees.
Goodin graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in History and Secondary Education in 1990.
Goodin is a native of Austin Indiana, and he and his wife have three children. They continue to raise beef cattle on the family farm.
After Goodin’s speech, Shance took to the podium once again and the announcing of the award winners began.
The Small Business of The Year Award was presented to Crowder’s Pharmacy
Crowder’s Healthcare Pharmacy is family-owned and operated. Ralph E. Anderson, R.Ph. began his career in Lafayette, Indiana, delivering prescriptions on a bicycle. “One of my primary duties was cleaning all the pharmacy utensils using a box of sawdust as a cleaning compound,” he remembers.
After graduating from pharmacy school in 1956, Anderson wanted to own a pharmacy. He found his current store in Bedford where the owner had passed and the widow needed a pharmacist.
He and his wife lived above the store in a small apartment. They had two employees and Anderson’s wife took deliveries with their children in a station wagon
The Non-profit Business of The Year was presented to Lawrence County Cancer Patient Services
Lawrence County Cancer Patient Services‘ mission is to assist cancer patients who reside in Lawrence County, Indiana when insurance or other sources of funding are not available. The Lawrence County Cancer Patient Services is staffed entirely by volunteers.
They provided more than $140,000 of assistance to cancer patients in Lawrence County.
The Business Beautification Award was presented to the City of Bedford
For the restoration and repair of various historical buildings and sites over the years, and the continued beautification of the city, the beautification award was presented to the City of Bedford to honor its efforts at historical preservation, remodeling, and general improvement.
The Business Hall of Fame award was presented to General Motors.
The GM Bedford Casting Operations in Indiana manages die-casting processes that produce cylinder blocks, transmission cases, structural components, and EV drive unit housings used in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles.
In addition to their products, GM has been present, providing jobs in Bedford since 1942. They currently maintain 742 employees, have invested $375.1 million back into the Bedford Casting Operations, and donated $222.5 thousand dollars to Bedford-area non-profits since 2019.
Last but not least…
The Community Service Award was presented to Marla Jones
Marla Jones has dedicated much of her life to community service since moving to Bedford decades years ago from Madison County, but even before, she had roots in helping the community from her own family. She has been instrumental in preserving and collecting the history and heritage of the City of Bedford and Lawrence County and has put countless hours into the community as the City of Bedford’s Business and Community Development Director before she stepped down in 2020. Today she works at and maintains strong ties with the Lawrence County Museum of History on the square in Bedford.
“It came very naturally to me,” Marla said, when asked what led her to serve the community, “to serve Lawrence County, my new home, because that’s the way it was when I was with my mom, dad, and my family growing up. We were all about volunteering and serving.”
“When I came to the new community it was a good way to meet people, people with shared passions,” Marla Jones noted, “There was a lot of work to be done, and there still is a lot of work to be done, and you can’t do it by yourself, so you have to surround yourself with a good team, and a lot of great partners.”
“The Lord has blessed me over and over again,” she said “I’m very thankful that the Lord brought me here and introduced me to this group of people. It allowed my light to shine, and hopefully, His light to shine to a lot of people.”
Marla accepted the award with teary eyes. Marla admitted how honored she was to receive the award. She glowed with grace and humility throughout the event and was seen hugging many of those she worked with over the years.
