NEWS LWA Honored as Best Small Business By Karen Blackledge The Daily Item March 09, 2007 LEWISBURG - Heister House Millworks Inc. received the 2006 Business of the Year Award, and LeFevre Wilk Architects received the 2006 Small Business of the Year Award on Thursday during the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce annual awards ceremony. Janet A. Tippett, publisher and president of The Daily Item and The Danville News and chairwoman of the chamber board of directors, received the Karen L. Hackman Star of Excellence Award as the chamber's 2006 Volunteer of the Year during the event at the Silver Moon Banquet Hall attended by more than 300. The guest speaker was Jeff Tobe, author of "Coloring Outside the Lines." Heister House Millworks, which was founded in 1988 by Brad Lauver and Lorne Nipple in a 30-by-60-foot building next to a dairy barn in Mount Pleasant Mills, began with four employees and now employs 68. It has continued to grow to include an office building and warehouse, Mrs. Tippett said. With assistance from the chamber's economic development division, the company added its latest expansion of 18,000 square feet, resulting in doubling the capacity of the mill. The company was a major contributor to the chamber's new business center including mouldings, trim and casings, wood finishing and installing wooden window trim and custom-made cherry doors at the Haddon Board Room entrance. Heister House contributes to the community by donating products and money to Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life and to people suffering losses from fire and flood damage. The company supports Future Farmers of America and 4-H clubs. Its employees have volunteered for mission trips to assist with rebuilding from devastation from Hurricane Katrina. LeFevre Wilk Architects, begun in 1994 in Selinsgrove, was recognized for its many contributions in supporting community efforts in the Valley and the chamber. The company donated architectural services to the chamber's new business center. The company continues to provide expertise as the chamber begins its second phase of the project. The company has offered design services to clients including Penn Valley Airport, Lewisburg Children's Center and Line Mountain School District. They actively support Susquehanna University, Penn College, Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove Chamber, Selinsgrove Projects Inc., the Snyder County Library Association, Suncom Industries and Boy Scouts. State Sen. John Gordner, R-27 of Berwick, and state Rep. Russell Fairchild, R-85 of Lewisburg, lauded the recipients. Mr. Gordner said the architectural firm is leaving a lasting legacy. He said small businesses are the backbone of the economy and the state. Jan Wilson, who had served as chamber interim president and CEO, presented Mrs. Tippett with a framed print of the chamber building. She said a bench, recognizing Mrs. Tippett, will be placed outside the main entrance. Mrs. Wilson thanked Mrs. Tippett for serving as board chairwoman, adding she "is one of the very best people of the Valley." She presented Mrs. Tippett with the inaugural diamond chamber logo pin donated by Foss Jewelers. In announcing the surprise award in her name, Mrs. Hackman said Mrs. Tippett serves with Sunbury Revitalization and twice has served as chairwoman of the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way. "You've left your mark. You can always count on Jan to speak what's on her mind. She has served as a mentor, as a role model and as a catalyst to motivate others," she said. Mrs. Tippett led the chamber building project, which raised $300,000 in cash and more than $400,000 in materials and in-kind services. She said Mrs. Tippett, who is generous with her time and expertise, continues to seek opportunities to advance the chamber. Mrs. Tippett received a standing ovation. Mrs. Tippett said it has been an honor serving as chairwoman and added the chamber is in the midst of an exciting time. She said the chamber will continue to focus on quality of life issues, economic development, increasing the appreciation of diversity and applying the many benefits of regionalism. "We are proud to be a progressive chamber," she said. Mrs. Tippett was the first recipient of the ATHENA International Award and served as chamber board chairwoman in 2005 and 2006 and throughout the first quarter of this year. She initiated the Ambassador Program in 2004 and introduced the concept of the chamber's monthly newsletter. She spearheaded the Made in the Valley Business Center project, resulting in more than 190 contributors to the business center. She was publisher of The Daily Item when the newspaper received the Business of the Year Award in 2002. She is a former board member of the Sunbury Community Hospital, serves on the board of Evangelical Community Hospital, and serves on the Susquehanna University Business and Industry Campaign and the Bucknell University Business and Industry Campaign. She is board treasurer of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Foundation. In speaking to the chamber, Mr. Tobe of Pittsburgh discussed "Coloring Outside the Lines," which is the title of his latest book. "I truly believe everyone is creative," he said. He said it is OK to color outside the lines as long as we don't fall off the edge of the page. "You need to figure how far you can go before you have colored too far outside the lines," he said. He urged the audience to look at things differently than others do. "For every challenge we face, there is always more than one right answer," he said. Citing what he called the Harvey principle named for the 6-foot white rabbit that only Jimmy Stewart could see in the old movie, he said, "Watch for a different perspective and maybe the ones that couldn't see Harvey were the crazy ones." "We have to learn to see invisible opportunities where everybody else sees visible limitations," he said. The immediate past president of the chamber where he lives, he said businesses should understand their customers better than anybody else. Introduced was the slate of chamber officers and directors for 2007. They are Chairman Jay Lemons, Vice Chairman Joe Cipriani, Treasurer Wayne Yohn, Region I Vice President Mike Wimer, Region II Vice President Tom Clark, Region III Vice President Lise Barrick, Region IV Vice President Jim Marcil and Region V Vice President Denise Prince. Also Charles Benner, Chuck Smeltz and David Herbert, Region I; Jeff Kapsar, Region II; Michael O'Keefe and Annette Sarsfield, Region III; Craig Gittens, Judi Karr and Steve Richard, Region IV; and Harold Hurst and Steve Keifer, Region V. Profile | Expertise | Services | Projects | Methodology | Process | News | Contact | Employment | Home © 2006 LeFevre Wilk Architects 7 East Pine Street, Selinsgrove, PA 17870, 570.374.5130, info@lefevrewilk.com