Dave Arbogast (middle right) shakes hands with Bryan Sexton, vice-chairman of the TACC board, (far right) after accepting a Business Excellence Award on behalf of the Dave Arbogast Group, Inc. Blake Arbogast (front left) also shakes hands with Troy Mercer, treasurer of the TACC board.
Sam Wildow | Miami Valley Today
TACC President Joseph Graves awards the President’s Impact Award to Mike Twiss, president of Level MB Construction.
Sam Wildow | Miami Valley Today
TACC Executive Director Kathi Roetter (right) hugs Michael Ham (left) after awarding Ham the Friend of the Chamber Award on Thursday.
Sam Wildow | Miami Valley Today
Mike Twiss, president of Level MB Construction, accepts the President’s Impact Award from the TACC’s annual dinner on Thursday evening at APAC.
Sam Wildow | Miami Valley Today
By Sam Wildow
TROY — The Troy Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC) held its annual dinner on Thursday at the new Arbogast Performing Arts Center (APAC), recognizing local businesses and citizens for their contributions to the local economy, as well as the area’s quality of life.
TACC’s Board of Directors played some catching up on Thursday evening as the chamber had not been able to hold its annual dinner last year due to the pandemic. Chairman Bob Winner, of Winners Computer, recognized past Chairman Rob Davis, from Crown Equipment. The board also recognized Kristy Osting as the 2021 Ambassador of the Year.
The chamber then went on to recognize True Value, the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology, and the Dave Arbogast Group, Inc., during this year’s Business Excellence Awards.
“After they purchased the business three years ago, the owners have transformed the business by creating an enjoyable customer experience for everybody that comes in,” said Bryan Sexton, vice-chairman of the TACC board, about True Value. He added the employees at True Value “know what they’re doing.”
Troy Mercer, treasurer of the TACC board, recognized the “world-renowned” Hobart Institute of Welding Technology, saying, ”Hobart Institute is a welding school committed to helping individuals develop marketable welding skills through quality training at a minimum cost.”
The location of Thursday’s dinner at the APAC was also a fitting spot to recognize the Dave Arbogast Group.
“For our large business category tonight, we want to recognize a family business, the Arbogast Family of Dealerships, including Arbogast Buick GMC, Arbogast RV, and now Arbogast Ford,” Sexton said. “Through the past 25 years, the Family of Dealerships has supported numerous community organizations.” Sexton highlighted their support of Troy Christian, the Pink Ribbon Girls, and more.
“Arbogast has done great things in our community,” TACC Executive Director Kathi Roetter said, adding that it was also “long overdue” for the chamber to recognize the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology. Roetter was also happy the chamber was able to recognize True Value, a newer business in the community.
Also on Thursday, Roetter awarded the Friend of the Chamber Award to Michael Ham, who currently sits on the Troy Board of Education. Ham has volunteered with a number of community organizations, including the Troy Noon Optimist Club, the Troy Festival of Nations, the Future Begins Today Board, TACC’s Teen Leadership Troy Committee, and more. Ham also works for the city of Troy.
Roetter said Ham has been a friend of the chamber for nearly 15 years, graduating from the Teen Leadership Troy program in 2008 and the Leadership Troy program in 2014.
“If you know him, you know that he serves the greater Troy community over and over,” Roetter said.
In addition to volunteering his time to the Leadership Troy programming, Roetter said Ham also helps with TACC’s social media, along with writing press releases, writing articles for TACC’s newsletter, and bringing “a level of cheer and laughter to our office.”
“He regularly shares positive motivation and reminds us all, in a world where you can be anything, be the good in the world,” Roetter said.
Lastly, TACC President Joseph Graves awarded the President’s Impact Award to Level MB Construction, and the award was accepted by the president of Level MB, Mike Twiss. Graves said he saw the President’s Impact Award as a way to recognize a business or individual for “making a true impact to our community and region.”
“The winner of this year’s President’s Impact Award is a company who I would categorize as transformative,” Graves said about Level MB. “The company is a small company, but their reach is quite wide. The company president has surrounded himself with capable, skillful, caring, and creative employees — the sign of good leadership, in my opinion.” Graves said Level MB encourages its employees to be involved in the community.
Twiss said he had no idea he was going to receive the President’s Impact Award on Thursday evening, adding he was “really honored and humbled.”
“It’s a testament to our employees,” Twiss said about the award, saying his employees are “phenomenal people who care about Troy.”
“Hopefully we’re able to give back to our community and the city of Troy for as long as I’m at the helm of Level MB, and we’re really honored and appreciate it,” Twiss said.
