By STEVE LATOUR
Westfield Chamber CEO
For the 39th time in the organization’s 42-year history, the Westfield Chamber gathered community leaders, residents, and business owners and recognized the community’s best and brightest.
The Westfield Lantern Awards had been an annual tradition since 1982 until the pandemic interfered with the Chamber’s plans for a 2021 ceremony.
“We have talented professionals and residents worthy of recognition. It was time to bring our community’s tradition back and resume the Lantern Awards,” said Westfield Chamber Chairman Steve Rupp. “The unfortunate pause gave us an opportunity to re-evaluate our awards program, the levels of recognition, and the hardware. The 2023 ceremony will feel familiar but will include new awards and all new hardware.”
The three-hour ceremony was held at the new Prairie Waters Event Center in Westfield at the corner of State Road 32 and Shady Nook Road. The event welcomed more than 150 guests, residents, and business and community leaders. Duke Energy served as the title sponsor for the fourth consecutive time.
The following is a list of award recipients and finalists acknowledged during the evening’s program. Names in bold were the award recipient among the finalists.
Community Volunteer Award of Distinction
- Barbara Haehner, Heart & Soul Free Clinic
- Carrie Larrison, Open Doors Food Pantry of Washington Township
Westfield Washington Schools Award of Distinction
- Ashley Knott, Westfield Educational Foundation
Healthcare Awards of Distinction, Sponsored by Indiana Members Credit Union
- Erik Angelotti, Ella Pharmacy
Westfield Young Professionals Hall of Fame Induction
Westfield Young Professional of the Year
- Joshua Andrews, Westfield Washington Schools
- Kayla Arnold, City of Westfield
- Thea Snelly, The Zulu Group, Keller Williams Realty
- Matt Trnian, Grand Park Sports Campus
- Brian Tomamichel, Westfield Washington Schools
Westfield Citizen of the Year Award
- Lisa Brandenburg
- Shelly Brown
- Matthew Deck
- Dr. DeLayne Lefevre
- Gina Terrill
Distinguished Service Award
- Diana Peyton
Non-Profit of the Year Award
- Humane Society for Hamilton County
- Open Doors Food Pantry of Washington Township
- Student Impact
New Partner of the Year
- STAR Financial Bank (Large Business Category)
- West Fork Whiskey Co. (Mid-Size Business Category)
- Nori Japanese Steakhouse (Small Business Category)
Board of Directors Business of the Year
Small Business Category
- Dean Ballenger Agency
- Hittle Floral
- Quack Daddy Donuts
Mid-Size Business Category
- Greek’s Pizzeria Westfield
- Meijer Westfield
- Sobczak Construction
Large Business Category
- Abbott Labs
- Community First Bank of Indiana
- Heartland Growers
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While the Westfield Chamber has recognized an emerging leader or young professional for several years, this was the first year the Chamber Inducted Young Professionals into a Hall of Fame. Each young professional was recognized for their contributions to Westfield and their profession. Among the five inductees, one individual – Kayla Arnold, was chosen as the 2023 Young Professional of the Year.
Kayla Arnold was selected as Young Professional of the Year. (Photo courtesy Whitney Moore Photography)
Arnold is always positively promoting the city, Westfield Welcome, and encouraging others to get involved and step up. She loves connecting people with others and goes above and beyond to ensure everything is top-notch. Outside of her work in the city, she’s an active Hamilton County Leadership Academy alumna, serves on the Hamilton County Tourism Board, is a Westfield Kiwanis board member, is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Indianapolis, and is pursuing her Certified Public Manager (CPM) designation.
Gina Terril was named Citizen of the Year. (Photo courtesy Whitney Moore Photography)
The other individual award of note was this year’s recipient for Citizen of the Year, Gina Terril. She is a born and raised Hoosier, has spent 23 years working her way to assistant Vice President of business development at Indiana Members Credit Union. She sits on the Riverview Hospital Foundation Board and is a co-founder of the Cancer Care Cup, a charity gala and golf outing that has donated over $175,000 to cancer patients and families of Hamilton County since 2017. She is a Hamilton County Leadership Academy graduate and is part of the HCLA Alumni Council. She also sits on the IU Health North PFAC Council. Gina also shares her time as a volunteer at Hamilton County Meals on Wheels as a personal home delivery driver.
Diana Peyton, who serves as the president of the Westfield Washington Historical Society, was honored with the Distinguished Service Award. (Photo courtesy Whitney Moore Photography)
These women exemplify the best of Westfield.
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Community First Bank (CFB) of Indiana was named the Business of the Year for the Large Business category. CFB President and CEO Robb Blume thanked the community, saying, “Our CFB family could not be more grateful for the support we have received from so many since joining the Hamilton County community in 2015. For the past 20 years, our bank has been built on a promise that we would build a community bank that would focus on local consumers and businesses, and we wake up every day with a mission to continue honoring that initial promise.”
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West Fork Whiskey Co. the mid-size business New Partner of the Year established a new tourism-based facility in Westfield in 2022. The distillery’s new project houses a family-friendly restaurant, event center, multiple bars, and education facility in addition to whiskey distilling areas. The company has tasked its employees with positioning its Westfield facility as a community hub hosting an array of community and business events, like the DWA Winter Market. It’s an ideal place to bring Westfield together over good food and good drinks.
The large business New Partner of the Year, STAR Financial Bank, is celebrating 80 years of serving the Indiana community, a journey that started in 1943 to become one of Indiana’s most trusted community banks. They have been able to remain relevant and continue to grow in a constantly changing environment by maintaining the company’s core values. While their physical presence is new in Westfield, they have wasted no time getting involved in the community and have big plans to be even more involved in 2023.
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The Non-Profit of the Year Open Doors was able to expand on the Chamber’s mission of improving the quality of life of residents in the community with the addition of the annex to the Open Doors facility. The building addition provided the opportunity to expand the Weekend Food Bag Program from serving 65 school kids to serving 175 school kids twice a month for food-insecure families in the community.
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All the businesses recognized at this year’s ceremony were deserving of their recognition. They were all fully invested in the community, grew their operations in Westfield and positively impacted the community in large and small ways.
Additional information about the Westfield Chamber Lantern Awards is available at WestfieldChamberIndy.com.