Chamber recognizes accomplishments Three awards were presented by the Delphi Chamber of Commerce to community members for their outstanding contributions to the Delphi area in 2009. Award recipients are, left to right, Sherri Cripe, Making a Difference Award; Belinda Weatherwax, Community Appearance Award; and Jim McGreevey, Samuel L. Milroy Award. Comet photo The Delphi Chamber of Commerce presented the prestigious Samuel L. Milroy Award to long-time city volunteer Jim McGreevey.

The presentation, along with two others, was made at Monday night’s annual Chamber Banquet held at Riehle’s at the Club.

McGreevey, a Delphi native, and his father owned and operated J&J Disposal Service in Delphi for many years. After merging the company with another trash company, McGreevey and his wife, Carol, purchased Delphi Pizza King in 1985. They owned and operated the restaurant for more than 20 years. Despite current health issues, he is still making pizzas at the restaurant.

Award presenter Rick Curts said he bet half of the attendees have the Pizza King’s number programmed in their cell phones.

McGreevey worked on many community projects as an active member and former director of the Delphi Chamber of Commerce.

He is also a long-time member of the Delphi Lions Club, helping with many club projects such as building the swinging bridge and the Leader Dog program. He and his wife were active with the International Lions Club and attended many annual conferences.

“He’s a friend to many, if not everyone, and we’re all the better for it,” Curts said as he presented McGreevey with the award.

The Making a Difference Award went to Sherri Cripe, a 20-year teacher in the Delphi Community School Corporation. Cripe teaches kindergarten at Camden’s Early Childhood Center after teaching art at Hillcrest Elementary School for 17 years.

Cripe was cited for going the extra mile for her students. She schedules home visits with each of her students if the parents allow and gives parents strategies for helping their child be successful.

Belinda Weatherwax, owner of The Flower Shoppe II, was presented the Community Appearance Award. The Chamber praised Weatherwax, a florist, for her window displays that give a positive appearance to downtown Delphi.

State of the City address

Mayor Randy Strasser reflected on the past year and looked to the city’s future in his State of the City address.

Dealing with change at City Hall has been his biggest issue, he said.

The changes in property tax rates have made it tough, Strasser said, but “it has made us more competitive. 2011 and 2012 will continue to be tough years as we see assessed valuations continue to go down.”

“We need to be as efficient as we possibly can, but still provide good services,” he added.

The mayor explained that the city is cutting its spending and adopting user fees to deal with $310,000 less in monies coming in than it had in 2008.

“We have been restructuring city services,” he said, “first the street and police departments in 2009 and the utilities in 2010.”

Strasser touched on the Hoosier Heartland Highway and its potential impact for the city and the county.

He said the city is facing $5 million in utilities improvements and expansion for projects related to the HHH. The city is working with the state on funding options, he added.

He said the city is working closely with the Carroll County Economic Development Corp. to get utilities to shovel-ready sites.

The recent purchase of the former Globe Valve building has the potential of adding 30 to 100 new jobs, the mayor said. A hotel has also expressed interest in the city.

He added that the city’s ties with the Kankakee-Iroquois Planning Commission and the Metropolitan Planning Organization in Tippecanoe County are expected to help with future development.

The city has several challenges to address, Strasser said, including the loss of jobs, quality housing, animal control and code enforcement.

Strasser sees great things happening for Delphi by combining the efforts of the city, Delphi Chamber, Delphi Main Street, Delphi Preservation Society and civic organizations.

“We have a challenge,” he said, “to bring people back into the community.

Chamber businesses

Each year two Chamber members are selected to give brief overviews of their businesses. Speakers were Martin Krutak, manager of Alco, and Janet Smith with Indiana Packers Corp.

Krutak, who recently assumed the store manager position, explained that he has been in retail sales for many years, including New York City and most recently south Florida.

Krutak said that Alco specializes in offering a wide variety of quality merchandise at reasonable prices. Delivering those products with friendly, personal service is what sets Alco apart from other retail chains, he said.

Based in Abilene, Kansas, Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc., serves smaller, rural communities. According to Krutak, the company began in 1901 and has seen consistent growth over its 109- year history with 258 retail stores now in 23 states.

The Duckwall-ALCO company operates its stores under two names, ALCO and Duckwall. ALCO stores offer the full line of merchandise while the Duckwall variety stores offer a smaller selection.

The company’s 350,000 square-foot retail distribution facility remains in Abilene, and services all of the company’s stores.

Indiana Packers Corporation began in 1991 with a production capacity of 4,200 hogs per day. The company, a leading processor of premium pork products in the United States, now has a daily production capacity of 16,800 hogs, Smith said.

She explained that the company has recently invested over $100,000 million in new plant improvements and new construction, all in an effort to improve product quality and service.

Smith said that IPC houses its corporate offices, sales, processing and shipping all in one centralized location in Delphi, to better serve the needs of customers.

The company employs 1,700 workers and has never had a lay-off, she added. Ninety-eight percent of the hogs IPC processes come from a 150-mile radius of the plant. Seventy percent of its product remains in the United States.

Smith invited guests to visit the company’s new website, www.indianakitchen. com. Other business

Chamber officers for 2010 are Randy Myers, president; Aaron Nacke, vice president; and Rick Curts, secretary.

New directors are Darrin Brown, Brown’s Tire Service; Jim Snowberger, Snow’s Mixed Martial Arts; Dale Seward, Bob’s Investigations; and Vanessa McKinney, Security Federal Bank.

Outgoing directors recognized were Janice Roe, Belinda Weatherwax, Sandy Flora and Lisa Perry.

The Entertainers from Delphi Community High School performed under the direction of Kevin Kayser.

The invocation and benediction were given by Pastor Jeff Kibler of the Delphi Church of Christ.