PENN TWP - The Butler County Chamber of Commerce's annual Celebrate Business recognition dinner at the Butler Country Club on Thursday night turned into a family slide show of sorts.

Featured speaker Michelle Pawk, the Tony award-winning actress and singer who graduated from Knoch High School in 1980, showed slides of her career starting with a production at the Butler Musical Theater Guild.

Pawk, who lives in New York City, is in town for a sold out performance at Butler County Community College's Succop Theater on Saturday. That is a fund-raising event for the Arts Council of Butler County.

She said she has celebrated the awards she has received because of her stage career, "but there's nothing like being honored by the people back home."

About 170 chamber members and guests who attended the dinner laughed with Pawk as she highlighted and low-lighted moments that ranged from working in a Disney World hotel to receiving her Tony.

"So to sum this up," she said at the end of the slides and stories, "we must teach kids about the arts or there will not be any. It is also a wonderful outlet for children to express themselves."

Besides hearing from a hometown-girl-made-good, the chamber honored hometown-businesses-made good through the Champion Awards.

Stan Kosciuszko, chamber president, explained the awards celebrate businesses that have unique initiatives, made an investment in Butler County, developed innovative approaches to business, and demonstrated employee commitment with a "people philosophy."

This year's categories and winners are:

25 employees or less - Randy and Bob's Carstar Auto Body, 1120 Oneida Valley Road, Chicora, owned by Randy and Bob Miller, with 19 employees.

More than 25 employees - Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates, 400 Morgan Center, Butler, with more than 350 employees worldwide, half of which are in the Butler office.

Five to 105 employees - Specialized Staffing Inc., 220 S. Main St., owned by Lisa Guard, with seasonal staffing levels.

"Champions come in wide varieties with one common thread - they recognize that challenges make life interesting. Overcoming challenges makes life meaningful," Kosciuszko said of the award-winning businesses.