Four Major Awards Handed Out During Alliance’s Annual Banquet

Written by on February 24, 2023

The Hardin County Chamber and Business Alliance’s 16th Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet was held Thursday evening.

As is the custom of the event, the highlight was the presentation of four awards.

The first award was the Non-Profit of the Year Award. This award is awarded to a Non-Profit that provides extraordinary programs and services to benefit Hardin County and its community members. 

The winner of this year’s Non-Profit of the Year Award was the Lake of Lights.

The Lake of Lights is a Christmas lighting event that is held at Saulisberry Park and France Lake each year. Starting the day after Thanksgiving and running until New Year’s Eve, the Lake of Lights brings Christmas cheer to the Hardin County area. 

Operated by a dedicated group of volunteers, the Lake of Lights sees thousands of local (and even non-local) attendees who travel to France Lake to see all of the hard work and effort the volunteers put into building and maintaining the many Christmas light displays. The Lake of Lights was featured as a stop on the 2022 Ohio Holiday Light Trail and saw a rise in out of town visitors to Hardin County.

While some proceeds raised from the Lake of Lights nightly events are spent on maintaining the displays, most of the proceeds are given back to the various non-profit entities that assist in the nightly operation and maintenance of the Lake of Lights display. This helps many of those entities raise some extra money to continue their own operations in our local area. 

The second award was the Community Service of the Year Award. This award is given to an outstanding individual or organization dedicated to serving others and improving Hardin County.

The winner of this year’s Community Service of the Year Award was the Kenton Lions Club.

The Kenton Lions Club was chartered on January 14, 1947. The Kenton Lions’ volunteer work and funds are directed to the benefit of our local community. They invest thousands of dollars each year in local projects plus many volunteer hours for the betterment of our community. The Kenton Lions host a local show every other year called the “Lions Show” with skits and local entertainment to raise money for their various service projects in Kenton.

The Lions are probably best known for their “Kenton Lions Christmas Parade.” Recently dubbed “Ohio’s Biggest Small-Town Parade,” the Kenton Lions dedicate many hours of planning, preparation and manpower to putting on a wonderful parade in downtown Kenton, year after year. The parade has grown in size each year and is a staple event looked forward to by everyone in the community. 

Some other Kenton Lions Club service projects include:

.Purchase of eyeglasses for children.

.Recycling of eyeglasses.

.Participation in the Memorial Day parade.

.Contributions to the local Dollars for Scholars.

.State highway roadside clean up.

The third award was the Citizen of the Year Award. This award is based upon an individual’s outstanding achievements and contributions, which have made Hardin County a better place to live, work and prosper.

The winner of this year’s Citizen of the Year Award was Matt Jennings.

Matt Jennings has always been deeply dedicated to the growth and improvement of Hardin County. Jennings is the current CEO at Quest Federal Credit Union. Matt sits as a member of various boards in the Hardin County area, including Rhodes State College Foundation Fundraising, Kenton Little League & Home Run Memorial Park, OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital, Hardin County Airport, the WKTN Radio Executive Board, and the Hardin County Armory Foundation Executive Board.  

In the past, Matt has sat on the board of the HCCBA and the United Way. He has also coached youth baseball and youth football. He is a general aviation pilot; scuba dive certified and raises beef cattle with his father. He and his wife, Marci, are now adjusting to life as empty nesters and visit their son at Ft. Benning, where he is stationed, whenever they can. 

Matt dedicates his time and efforts to improving the various organizations that he is involved in, which in turn betters our community at large. His hard work and dedication to this community will have a positive and long-term impact on Hardin County and its citizens.

The fourth and final award was the Business of the Year Award. This award is for a business or industry employing more than 50 employees that gives back to the community, supports local business climate and creates or encourages economic growth.

The winner of this year’s Business of the Year Award was Associated Plastics.

Associated Plastics Corporation is an independently owned custom plastic injection molding company. Associated Plastics Corporation has been situated in Ada, Ohio for over 30 years. The company manufactures products for automotive, electronic, electrical, food processing, sports, toy, and horticulture industries and caters to both small and large volume orders.

Associated Plastics Corporation has experienced significant growth within the past two years and currently has 68 employees. Their dedication to providing services to their customers, along with being a great local employer, have made Associated Plastics Corporation a great candidate for the Business of the Year Award.

The Annual Dinner Meeting was held in McIntosh Center at Ohio Northern University in Ada. 


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