Hello and Goodbye: Duneland Chamber of Commerce Honors Retiring Members and Welcomes New Ones

The 2015 Annual Meeting of the Duneland Chamber of Commerce was filled with heartfelt goodbyes and warm welcomes as members of the 2014 chair officially left their positions and new members were officially added as new chair members for 2015.

Click here to see photos from the luncheon!

Duneland Chamber of Commerce President Maura Durham presented plaques to retiring board members Janice Custer, Mary Fox of Kramer & Leonard Office Products, and Laurie Wehner-Evans or Porter Regional Hospital as she expressed her thanks and appreciation toward their hard work and devotion to their community.

“These individuals have served their community and given so much back,” Durham said as she presented each member with a plaque commending their service as board members.

“The most enjoyable thing during my time as a board member was meeting other people and learning about other businesses,” Wehner-Evans said. “Our goals were to make Duneland a great place to work, play and live, and I feel we’ve made progress into accomplishing that.”

It was also this meeting that Scott Mundell of Franciscan Alliance and previous Chairman of the Board was given a proper send off before transitioning the position to new Chairman, John Marshall.

“2014 was a year full of challenges,” Mundell said during his last speech as chairman. “I am thankful that we had a great staff of people who were always willing to go above and beyond for their community and that we have a great successor to take over.”

Mundell’s final task as chairman involved adding five new members to the 2015 Chamber of Commerce. Paul Boyter of McColly Real Estate, Leroy Flores of Leroy's Hot Stuff, Lisa Mathis of Epic Limo Inc., JoAnna Nelson of Porter Regional Hospital, and Craig O'Brien of Ashley’s Jewelry by Design were officially inducted as new members and were met unanimous approval from the other meeting attendees.

“It feels exciting to give back to the community,” O’Brien said. “I feel that small towns and businesses can flourish if they have the right community leaders to guide the way.”

The meeting closed with Marshall discussing his future goals and aspirations for the Duneland Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s my goal to make Northwest Indiana the premier place to work, play, and live,” Marshall said. “It’s also my goal to work on retention and maintain memberships on this board. I want all businesses to feel like they are welcomed and valued.”

Marshall also mentioned during his speech the importance of having good people to work with in order to produce strong results for communities.

“My father told me two things that he eventually passed on to me. The first is to build on a strong foundation. The second is to surround yourself with successful people. I am excited about the young, bright individuals who know how to think out of the box. It always amazes me at the talent we can attract,” Marshall said.

Premier Sponsor: Porter Regional Hospital

Platinum Sponsors: Franciscan St. Anthony Health Michigan City, Waterbird Inn, BusINess, The Times Media Company

Gold Sponsors: BMO Harris Bank, Hogan Consulting Group, Teachers Credit Union, The LaPorte Savings Bank Lakeside Wealth Management

Silver Sponsors: 1st American Management, Above Board Construction, Ashley's Jewelry by Design, Centier Bank, Harris, Welsh & Lukmann, HMS Midwest LLC, Horizon Bank, Kramer and Leonard Office Products, Starin Marketing Inc., Winey Insurance Agency, Trans-United, Inc.