GREENFIELD — Tears came to Debbie Pfeiffer’s eyes as she and her family walked to the podium.
A fire last year destroyed the building in Riley Park Plaza, located at the corner of Apple and Main streets in Greenfield, that housed their business. But in spite of the hardship, Mueller Auto Body is prepping to return and rebuild, Pfeiffer said.
Their grit and fortitude in the face of adversity is what led the Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce to award the Pfeiffer family the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award for 2018.
The Pfeiffers hugged each other as a crowd of nearly 200 gathered at Adaggio’s Banquet Hall Thursday for Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Community Walk of Fame Awards rose to their feet with applause after the honor was announced.
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Each year, the chamber recognizes businesses and nonprofit groups throughout the county for their various accomplishments and contributions to the community. For the businesses and groups honored, the awards ceremony is reminder to them that their efforts toward strengthening their hometowns have not gone unnoticed.
The Pfeiffers have felt only love and support from their fellow businessmen and women is the past year, they said. And it’s that neighborly affection from the community that makes the family feel they’re doing something right, Debbie Pfeiffer said.
“It’s been an emotional ride,” she said. “The community has just got behind us and made us feel like that was what we were supposed to do, come back and come back strong.”
The Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s mission is “Partnering for Prosperity,” and each year the event takes time to recognize the hardworking entrepreneurs who made positive steps toward achieving that goal.
The Community Walk of Fame serves as the organization’s biggest fundraiser, during which it’s members name a businessman and businesswoman of the year, a community hero and a nonprofit of the year. They also hand out recognitions for entrepreneurial spirit, service to the chamber and name a Chamber Champion.
The chamber accepts nominations from the community in the months leading up to the event before an executive committee narrows the entries down to three nominees per category.
The board of directors received more than 200 nominations for the various accolades this year — more than they’ve ever had before, said chamber president Retta Livengood.
It’s wonderful to see that more and more residents are keeping an eye out for people doing incredible things in Hancock County, Livengood said. And it’s important that the chamber expresses its gratitude to entrepreneurial leaders and nonprofit organizations alike, to point out the generous and hardworking individuals who tend to avoid the spotlight, she said.
“I think a lot of times these people fly under the radar,” Livengood said. “They’re not always the people out there patting themselves on the back. So, this is an opportunity for them to get some love from us as well.”
The event also gives businesses and organizations a chance to thank for the community for its support.
Neighborhoods Against Substance Abuse, or NASA, a nonprofit dedicated to educating youth about the dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse, was awarded nonprofit of the year Thursday.
It’s an honor to accept an award from the chamber of commerce recognizing the effort that his coalition has put into the community, said Tim Retherford, executive director. But the award is really a reflection on the county as a whole; from the work ethic of the members of his coalition, to the unwavering support given to NASA by the local school systems and law enforcement officials, Retherford said.
“Greenfield is a great community,” Retherford said. “Everyone’s willing to work together. So many communities don’t have that asset, that tight knit community where people are willing to lay down the fences and work together for a common goal: To improve the health and well being of our community and make it a great place for us to raise our families.”
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Chamber Community Award Winners
Businesswoman of the year: Sherry Haines, Miller’s Jewelry.
Businessman of the year: Steve Long, Hancock Health.
Community Hero: Dr. Stephanie Kinnaman.
Non-Profit of the Year: Neighborhoods against Substance Abuse, Tim Retherford.
Entrepreneurial Spirit: Debbie, Mike, and Matt Pfeiffer, Mueller Auto Body.
Chamber Service: Linda Jones, Amsoil.
Chamber Champion: Philip Sheward, Allen Wellman McNew Harvey.
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