Business leaders honored during Chamber’s Celebrate Business Dinner
SLIPPERY ROCK — Nearly 300 Butler County Chamber of Commerce members and business leaders got the chance to acknowledge the work of others at Slippery Rock University's Robert M. Smith Student Center Wednesday, Sept. 6 for the Chamber’s annual Celebrate Business Dinner.
The event served as a graduation ceremony for the 2023 Leadership Butler County class and a chance to present three awards: the Stan Kosciuszko Leadership Excellence Award, the David L. Lloyd Chamber Champion Award, and the William A. Morgan Jr. Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
"I’m proud to call Butler County home; I think it’s one of the best places in the world to live,” Chamber president Jordan Grady said.
“With the Chamber growing and a lot of organizations in this room growing, I want everyone to know that I will be all in and proud to be the president and I’m thankful to work with this group of professionals everyday.”
Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche was presented the Stan Kosciuszko Leadership Excellence Award for her role in serving the community in a variety of roles such as chairman of the board of the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, Tri-County Workforce Investment and the Community Development Corporation.
“I want to thank my colleagues,” Osche said. “I could not work with better people. The gang at the county is an amazing group of people.”
This year marks the second year of the Leadership Excellence Award which was named after past Chamber president Stan Kosciuszko.
Kosciuszko served as president from 2002 to 2022 and during that time he was part the creation of new entities that filled voids in the community, such as Leadership Butler County, Butler County Young Professionals and Butler County Youth Leadership.
Dr. Paul Keelan, from Keelan Dental in Butler, was named the William A. Morgan Entrepreneur of the Year honoree for starting his business from the ground up and setting an example for others in the community.
“I am humbled to receive this award,” Keelan said. “I think it’s safe to say most people would not place the word entrepreneur and dentist in the same sentence.”
Keelan brings 30 years of experience and when he decided to buy the old McDonald’s on New Castle Road in Butler to do what he loves, he also wanted to create a career path for others.
“We tore it town and built the biggest building the bank would let me build,” Keelan said. “My goal is to give the men and women that work with me an opportunity to build a career, not just a job. People are not crazy about going to the dentist and it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Mars Bank was presented the David L. Lloyd Chamber Champion Award for their dedication to the community and the relationships they have built over the years.
“We are truly honored by this recognition,” Mars Bank president and CEO Jim Dionise said. “No one likes to be recognized, we just like to get things done.”
On Aug. 31, Mars Bank announced it will be merging with NexTier Bank and the combined company and branch locations will operate under the NexTier Bank brand.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.
“As we enter a new chapter with NexTier Bank, the legacy of our community services and solutions will continue,” Dionise said.
There were 29 people in this year's Leadership Butler County graduating class.
The individuals in the Leadership class came from all sorts of trades and backgrounds from across Butler County.
Leadership Butler County took on many projects over the past year, such as collecting over 400 boxes of cereal, more than 300 pairs of socks and countless other toiletries for Inspired Hearts & Hands.
“Over the past year we made memories that will be forever cherished, friendships that will last and many business connections,” Cody Slater, class chairman, who works for Alliance for Nonprofit Resources said. “When our projects are completed, we will have left this county better than when we inherited it.”
