Events
What’s Going on Downtown
The 2011 Heritage Centre Award Winners
The Heritage Centre Association held its Annual Awards Banquet with a record number in attendance including members and guests to celebrate the many successes of 2011 on Thursday March 1st, upstairs at The Alcove Restaurant.
Long time member and friend of HCA, former State representative Thom Collier was the MC for the evening and presented the Business Awards.
Paragraphs Bookstore was honored as Small Business of the Year, sponsored by Paragraphs Bookstore.
Paragraphs Bookstore has been serving the readers of Knox County, Ohio since 1996. Paragraphs started their journey on Sandusky Street, then moved downtown to South Main Street located near the Woodward Opera House. In 2003, after moving to this location, Anne Storan purchased the business and has brought it to a new level… Near the end of 2011 they expanded again to their current location at 229 South Main, nearly doubling their square footage. It is no small feat to be a growing company. Paragraphs has become an anchor in downtown, they sell new books for every age and interest. In addition, they also carry greeting cards and unique gifts, as well as toys and a wonderful collection of backpacks and book bags. They provide magnificent selection of books and even better service. To the owners and staff of Paragraphs, thank you for everything you do.
Also nominated in the small business category were Ohio Rental and The Gold Exchange.
The Mid-Size Business of the Year Award was presented to Herald’s Appliances and Electronics, sponsored by G.R. Smith Hardware.
Herald’s Appliances and Electronics is a family owned and operated business. Herald’s was started in 1952 by Robert “Video” Herald and occupied a spot on North Main Street for many years. Bob’s son Phil moved back to his hometown of Mount Vernon in 1991 and took over the business. Over time the business grew and has long been known for their terrific service, which continues today, but the store moved to its current location on South Main Street in 1994. Herald’s was recently renovated both inside and out and looks fantastic. Herald’s is now the largest independent audio, video, and appliance company in central Ohio. Herald’s has been a long time supporter for downtown and HCA. In 2011, they were one of our season sponsors for the new First Friday Corn Hole Tournament, and both second and third prize sponsor for the Rubber Duck River Race. Whether it’s helping with prizes and sponsorships, cleaning the street, or finding a doohickey to make a projector work - you can always count on Phil and his staff.
Also nominated for Mid-Size Business were Donley Ford Lincoln of Mount Vernon and The Alcove Restaurant.
The Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) was honored with the Large Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Herald’s Appliances and Electronics.
COTC chose downtown Mount Vernon to locate its Knox County Campus and we are all very happy they did. COTC took a building that was designed for a very specific purpose, a theater and transformed it into their Knox County facility. COTC is now the latest higher education institution to call downtown Mount Vernon home, bringing in hundreds of students to potentially shop downtown each day. With the completion of their building in 2011, downtown Mount Vernon has a built-in customer base for generations to come.
At the suggestion of Joel Daniels, Vice President for Extended Campuses & New Business Development…we started a tradition with our September First Fridays as “Back to School Night”. This season will be the Fourth Annual “Back to School Night” with all the area colleges as well as the Career Center’s Adult Education Program all participating as sponsors.
COTC offers associate degrees and certificate programs in business, health, engineering, and public service technologies. They will have an open house open on March 20th so be sure to stop in and see all their good work.
Ariel Corporation and Brenneman Lumber Company were also nominated in the Large Business category.
Andrew Ricard received the Spirit of Heritage Award, sponsored by Ohio Rental.
Andrew joined the Heritage Centre Association with Lynne and their children as the first Family Membership in 2007. When Lynne was the interim manager and applying for the permanent position, Andrew was prepared to help out with his expertise as well. His first assignment was to redesign the HCA logo…little did he know, this was just the tip of the iceberg!
Andrew has spent hours every month, each year since Lynne was first hired, dedicated to HCA and maintaining a professional brand for the organization. He redesigned the website, and has continued to do all updates at Lynne’s direction. He has been a valuable part of Design with his professional banner designs for various events and Organization by creating our invitations for the Awards Banquet. Volunteering his talent with creating all the First Friday flyers and posters every season except 2008 (Ted had arranged for a friend to do the designs that season) was invaluable to the Promotions Committee. In 2011, with our first Rubber Duck River Race…Andrew created several versions of the event logo, incorporating it into the ticket art, sales packets, a promotional banner and our first Season poster for First Fridays. Thank you Andrew for your hard work over the years…and especially in 2011.
The Board surprised Lynne, adding her to the honor of this award as well, for the many volunteer hours she has devoted over her five year tenure with HCA.
Jeff Boucher and Becky Glass were also nominated for the award.
The Walter Rudin Award is presented to an individual in honor of his or her long-term commitment to downtown Mount Vernon and the community. A video presentation by the Mount Vernon News introduced John Ellis, former owner of United Precast, Inc. as the award recipient, sponsored by First-Knox National Bank.
“Our family has been in business in Mount Vernon since 1946,” Ellis said after being surprised by the award. “It is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in Mount Vernon; that’s really difficult. Thank you, I really appreciate this award.”
We honored two of our First Friday Cruise In voluneers, Dennis Suain and Nick Brown for their time and efforts with this event beginning in the 2010 Season.
HCA also recognized those members who have been committed to downtown through 10 and 20 years since Heritage Centre Association was incorporated at the Awards Banquet on March 1st.
Reaching 10 year membership (2002) status this year are:
Ariel Corporation (Phil Samuell was present to receive the plaque)
Paragraphs Bookstore (Lois Hanson was present to receive the plaque)
Good Impressions (Ellen Smith was present to receive the plaque)
R & M Southside Diner
Modern Builders
Debbie Urton
Knox County Historical Society
AAA
Sips Coffee House
Reaching 20 year membership (1992) status this year are:
Dennis & Schisler, Inc. (Renee McDaniel was present to receive the plaque)
Dumbaugh Insurance Agency (David Dumbaugh was present to receive the plaque)
First-Knox National Bank (Vicki Sant was present to receive the plaque)
Flowers For You (Sally Wright was present to receive the plaque)
Mount Vernon News (Kay Culbertson was present to receive the plaque)
The Alcove Restaurant (Kim Lenkei was present to receive the plaque)
Woolson Company (Larry Woolson was present to receive the plaque)
G.R. Smith Hardware
Nelson & Nelson CPAs
Pressler & Carpenter Family Dentistry
W.S. Hogg Insurance
We’d like to note that many of these businesses are long time supporters that have continued with us from the original Downtown Merchants Association.
Thank you all for your continued support, dedication and commitment to preserving and revitalizing Mount Vernon’s Central Business District.