The Sheridan
County Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients of the 2021 Awards of
Excellence during its Awards of Excellence Lunch program Wednesday, Feb. 9,
2022, at the Ramada Plaza Sheridan.
The recipients
were voted on by the membership via on-line ballot.
The awards
presented and the recipients are:
Community
Champion Award
This award honors
a Chamber member individual, business or organization that has made a
significant impact in Sheridan County. Understanding that a community thrives
when those in it invest and contribute to its success, the nominees demonstrate
vision, ambition and drive to address needs in the community and strive for the
betterment of the local area.
2021 Recipient: Sheridan County YMCA
The Sheridan
County YMCA has bounced back from a difficult 2020 to provide a stable,
reliable place for the community to gather for healthy, family-oriented
activities such as their world class swimming facility, youth summer camps and
community wellness challenges. Anyone can participate in these activities
without a membership. The YMCA provides family nights, with extra safety
precautions, and other family activities to encourage healthy interactions and
fun at a time that is challenging for everyone. Many parents of young children
depend on events like these to offer children a care-free, playful setting that
is appropriate for the whole family. Despite current conditions, the YMCA
continues to seek funding to fulfill their vision and expansion and to provide
a location and services accessible to the entire community, regardless of
financial challenges. This expansion focuses on providing expanded child and
after school care for children and youth, extended health and well being
offerings in an easily accessible area, additional offerings for their arts and
Big Horn programming and infrastructure improvements for Camp Roberts.
Strength
of Sheridan
This award
honors a Chamber member business or organization that has a distinguished
tenure of 20 or more years in the community. This business or organization
demonstrates consistent service, continually invests in the community, meets
challenges with innovative solutions and demonstrates sustained quality
performance.
2021 Recipient: Centennial Theatre
It’s been a
rough time for movie theaters, but Centennial Theatre has weathered the
pandemic storm. Centennial Theatre is a family corporation serving Sheridan for
two generations since 1955. Their mission has always been to furnish the best
in Motion Picture entertainment to the residents of Sheridan. They began in the
Orpheum Theatre next to the Elks Lodge in 1955. In 1960, they purchased the
Skyline Drive In, which remained in business until 2004, and took over
operations of the WYO Theater from Fox-Intermountain. With that lease, they had
to close the Orpheum. In 1976, they remodeled the old Safeway store on Alger to
be the Centennial Twin Theatre, and then in 1982, closed their operation at the
WYO Theater. In 1989 they added two screens, 1994 another, and again added a
screen in 2005 along with converting the other theaters to stadium seating.
They also converted their 35mm film projectors to digital projection. Recently,
Centennial introduced the “Orpheum Luxury Experience” which includes full
electric recliners, extended leg room, reserved seating and immersive sound and
picture. Centennial Theatre continues to show the newest and most popular films
while still remaining one of the best values to watch and enjoy movies.
Business
of the Year
This award
honors a Chamber member business that positively impacts the economic health of
the Sheridan area through exceptional business practices, customer service and
innovation. This business shows steady growth and consistent strong
performance, excels in community relations, practices exemplary business
conduct, responds positively to adversity and shows proven business
achievement.
2021 Recipient: L&H Industrial
L&H
Industrial is a leader in the manufacturing industry with locations in several
communities across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Chile. Their Sheridan
facility offers two unique processes not offered in any of their other
locations — cylinder repair and chroming and induction hardening. L&H only
performs these processes in the Sheridan branch which make the Sheridan
facility an essential portion of their overall business. The custom hydraulic
cylinder and rod repair market is very important to businesses that rely on
equipment to produce their product and a reliable source for these services is
crucial to the continued success of many businesses. The 33,000 square-foot
facility in Sheridan supplies a niche market that is vital to heavy
construction, mining, road construction and development work to be successful
and on time. Without the chroming facility, many employers within the area
would have significant delays to their business. L&H provides services that
many local employers need in order to run their business and keep people
employed. The induction hardening process is also a key service that businesses
rely on to keep their heavy equipment fleets operating. L&H is dedicated to
the local community and participates in and donates to local events such as the
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Manufacturing Day, Habitat for
Humanity, Sheridan High School graduation and the Sheridan Youth Livestock
sale.
Business
Person(s) of the Year
This award
honors a Chamber member business person(s) who shows outstanding business
acumen and strong leadership in business and community efforts. This person is
a champion for economic development, strives to exceed customer expectations,
delivers industry leading standards of service and quality and exhibits
innovation in business development.
20201 Recipient: Joe Wright, Kennon
CEO at Kennon,
Joe Wright oversees the company’s operations and is responsible for its culture
and financial performance. He has been an integral part of establishing a safe,
productive and communicative atmosphere at Kennon. A strong believer in Open
Book Management, Joe values a transparent culture within the organization. He
is an industrial engineer by training, however, he has also held several
management positions in both in large and small businesses. Joe obtained his
Professional Engineering license in 2008 and joined the Kennon team in 2010
after a 13-year career with UPS. After working as an engineer and executive
vice president, Joe was named Kennon’s Chief Executive Officer in 2015. Joe has
been incredibly involved in the execution of the (NextGen) New West
Manufacturing group and has positively impacted the network of manufacturers in
Sheridan and Johnson County. He played a significant role in the relationship
with the Wyoming Business Council and SEEDA, resulting in a new
state-of-the-art facility for Kennon in the High-Tech Business Park. Joe serves
on the Sheridan Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, is a co-chair of the New
West Manufacturing Partnership and is active in the local Rotary Club. He is
also a member of the Vistage CEO Network and currently enrolled in Stanford
University’s Executive Leadership Program.
For more
information, contact the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce at (307) 672-2485.