The Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber’s hosted its annual Business Recognition Breakfast Awards Ceremony & Annual Meeting Friday morning. Several local businesses and individuals were awarded for their contributions to the community.
See the winners below, with a brief description of each provided by the Chamber:
BEST NEW BUSINESS: LOCAL POUR
Local Pour opened their doors in June of 2021. Owners Chalet Sturgeon and Jayme Neumann created Local Pour to be a different kind of tasting room, one that provides people the unique opportunity to discover an assortment of Michigan wines with the guidance of friendly, educated hosts. They’ve continued to be a favorite for visitors and residents in the Sawyer area to enjoy craft beers, ciders, and cocktails from the best Michigan makers, and have expanded their offerings to include live music, fundraisers, and more.
SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR: FULL CIRCLE CAFE & ESPRESSO BAR
Full Circle Café & Espresso Bar exists for one sole purpose – to show the Southwest Michigan food scene some love. Longtime Southwest Michigan locals, and husband and wife team, Ryan and Jayme Bendoski believe in creating a space that is equal parts comfort as it is seasonality, sustainability, and locally sourced. All the while, they’re focusing on giving back to the community that has given them so much in the six years their doors have been open. Jayme and Ryan work with their dedicated Full Circle crew to offer a variety of delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner items, along with scratch-made baked goods and a full-service coffee bar, featuring locally roasted coffee and espresso drinks. The best part? You are guaranteed to be greeted with a genuine smile every single time you walk through the door. They love what they do and are on a mission to ensure that that love shines through in every delicious bite.
ECONOMIC IMPACT AWARD: BERRIEN SPRINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Berrien Springs Public Schools is a premier district that seeks to inspire students to become self-directed learners in an environment that promotes collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking skills. They strive to provide students with real-world problem solving and experiential learning with individualized options; believing students are inspired to learn when they have opportunities to be involved in their learning process. “The Shamrock Way” encourages and inspires students to think, learn, achieve, and care in a global community.
Already considered a trailblazer in education opportunities for students via their Virtual Academy, BSPS completed the build of a $19.7 million state-of-the-art Arts and Athletics Complex in 2022. This followed the completion of the upgrades and build out on the newly upgraded Sylvester Field.
Broken into two spaces, the Performing Arts Center provides classrooms for choir & band programs, drama & musical productions, and a new performing arts auditorium. The second half of the space houses the Indoor Athletic Complex and provides an auxiliary gym with practice space for up to three indoor athletic teams at one time, additional team locker rooms for male and female students, and a fitness and weight room.
BSPS services a highly diverse student population that makes the district rich with culture, talents, interests, abilities, skills, and needs. Their highly qualified staff develops these students into self-directed, lifelong learners who demonstrate personal competencies in academic achievement, technology, and citizenship.
NON-PROFIT EXCELLENCE AWARD: CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTER OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
The Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan (CAC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that assists in the investigation, treatment, awareness education, and prevention of child abuse in Southwest Michigan.
By bringing together all parties involved in a child abuse investigation – child protective services, law enforcement, the Prosecutor’s office, medical providers, and mental health services – the child tells their story one time, in the CAC’s child-friendly facility.
The CAC’s highly trained staff conduct developmentally appropriate, legally-sound forensic interviews of child victims, and their therapists provide crisis counseling and on-going therapy to child victims and their non-offending family members. All services are provided at no cost to the child victim and family. With this approach, the CAC reduces the trauma of child abuse investigations and compassionately meets the needs of victims.
Since 2002, the CAC has also served approximately 10,000 children who were alleged victims of sexual or severe physical abuse. They see an average of 500 children annually at their agency for forensic interviews, and many more for therapeutic services. In the fall of 2018, the CAC implemented a school-based child abuse awareness and prevention program that incorporates age-appropriate discussions and videos to teach children how to reduce their risk of sexual and physical abuse. They also have a canine advocate, Pawnee, a female, chocolate lab who came to the CAC through the Canine Advocacy Program. She is trained to provide emotional support to people, and especially children. She is utilized as a support animal in a therapeutic setting, and as a calming presence for children and adults who are partaking in services offered by the CAC.
The CAC is the only agency in our tri-county area that is an accredited Children’s Advocacy Center. National Children’s Alliance Accreditation is a rigorous process that ensures they are meeting national standards for the investigation and treatment of sexually abused children and their non-offending family members.
RISING STAR AWARD: JOSH KITCHELL, MOSQUITO MOB SERVICES
Josh Kitchell graduated high school from Bridgman in 2001. He then went on to get his undergraduate degree from Siena Heights University and his MBA in International Business from Cornerstone University. Being an entrepreneur at heart, Josh owned and operated two Anytime Fitness gyms located in Grand Haven and Holland from 2010-2018, before working at Mosquito Squad as director of Operations. This led to Josh once again returning to the entrepreneurship world and starting his own pesticide company Mosquito Mob. One of his core beliefs is helping his team grow, in doing so he’s assisted them in obtaining their GED’s and enrolling in college courses. When not running his own company, Josh teaches Middle School at Benton Harbor Charter Academy focusing on Financial Literacy and Introduction into Business, volunteers for Junior Achievement of Berrien and Cass Counties, has worked as an Adjunct Professor at Lake Michigan College and coaches Middle School football and basketball.
THE PAT MOODY AWARD: THOMAS STARKS, STARKS FAMILY FUNERAL HOMES
Tom Starks has spent a lifetime being a second-generation funeral director. He graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1977 and the University of Wyoming with a BS in Business and the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science with a Mortuary of Science Degree.
Tom has a Michigan mortuary license, crematory operator license, pre-need insurance license and he is a past member of the State Board of Mortuary Sciences. He is also a past president of Preferred Funeral Director International.
Before he joined the family business, owned at the time by his father Bob Starks and Louie Kerlikowske, Tom worked in a funeral home in Fort Worth, Texas for 2.5 years before returning to St. Joseph in 1986. He has gone from being the owner’s son to working for a corporation in management to being the owner himself.
In 1993, they sold the business, and Tom worked for the corporation which brought them until 2000 when he was fired over a disagreement on how they wanted to handle families. Tom’s response was to start from ground zero in 2001 by opening Starks & Menchinger Funeral Home and since has acquired six other funeral homes and a cremation society.
After losing his first wife Tracey to cancer in 2004, Tom understood what so many families he’s helped over the years experience. This loss ultimately shaped the approach Tom and the entire Starks team take in working with grieving families to create a quality personalized service for their loved ones.
Tom is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Joseph, the Benton Harbor Rotary Club and St. Joseph River Yacht Club. He has served on the Lory’s Place Board, Easter Seals Board, on United Way committees and at LINK Crisis Center. With the life long motto of “if you take care of the community, they will take care of you”. Tom’s donations to the community has enabled police departments to purchase body cams, uniforms, infrared drones and more.
He is married to his wife, Christine, and between the two of them, they have a dog named Ollie and four children. Olivia (Justin), Laura (Nick), Kai and Logan. Olivia and Laura have joined the family business as well.
AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR: LURALYNN WRIGHT, KSS ENTERPRISES
Luralynn Wright is an insightful business professional and her current role as an Account Manager for KSS Enterprises offers countless opportunities for her to work her magic. She uses a team approach to guide customers to resources that best match their requirements.
Among Luralynn’s unique qualifications are 20+ years in consultative sales positions in the jan/san, medical and pharmaceutical arenas. She holds an MPA in Health Administration from Indiana University and a BS in Life Sciences from Purdue University.
Luralynn is a transplant to Southwest Michigan. Moving here almost 20 years ago, she is ever grateful for the natural beauty of Lake Michigan, the charming quaintness of our coastal towns and the welcoming enthusiasm of our diverse communities.
She enjoys hiking, gardening and beachcombing, as well as exploring Southwest Michigan’s many treasured local events, businesses and restaurants. As a SMR Chamber Ambassador, she is honored to represent a business community that truly embraces “live, work, play in your own backyard”!
The full list of this year’s Chamber nominee and award recipient information will be made available at www.smrchamber.com.
