Goodrich is honored

Entrepreneur and philanthropist John B. Goodrich was named the Jay County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year for 2009 Saturday at the chamber's annual meeting at Arts Place in Portland.

Local beer distributor Jay Miller, who brought the Budweiser Clydesdales back to Jay County last year for their second visit and marked his 60th year in business in 2009, received the chamber's Lifetime Achievement Award.

SDP of Dunkirk was named Industry of the Year, while State of the Heart Hospice was recognized as Business of the Year.

The Dunkirk Community Commitment Award was presented to Indianapolis businessman Greg Retter, a key member of the Dunkirk Investment Group that has been transforming properties in downtown Dunkirk.

Long involved in the Jay Community Center, Goodrich also serves as president of John Jay Center for Learning.

A 1968 graduate of Wabash College, he has recruited students from Jay and surrounding counties for his alma mater for more than 30 years.

"The result of your efforts has been a steady stream of bright, talented, and eager young men matriculating to Wabash College," said Wabash president Patrick E. White in a letter of support.

Goodrich, owner and operator of J&P Custom Plating in Portland, has also received Wabash's Alumni Admissions Fellow Award.

An active member of the Portland Rotary Club, he has shepherded that club's tree distribution project for fourth graders for more than 20 years. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church where he has served as an elder, a trustee, and a Sunday school teacher.

"Talking with Jay Miller about the events of his life is more fun than you can imagine," said chamber executive director Vicki Tague when presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award. "But what you won't hear from this humble man is all of the good he has done in his community."

Tague cited Miller's involvement with the United Way, the Jay County Humane Society, the chamber, and his 20-year commitment to Jay-Randolph Developmental Services and its aluminum recycling program.

Retter, a 1973 graduate of Dunkirk High School, received the 2009 Outstanding Alumni Award from his fellow DHS alums. Retired after 31 years with JP Morgan Chase, he now works in sales for The Running Company, a specialty running/walking shoe store in Carmel.

"Greg has a strong and enduring love for his family and the community that he was raised and nurtured in," said Chuck Rife in presenting the Community Commitment Award. "Although he lives and works elsewhere, he remains in touch with old friends and is very involved in working to rehabilitate and improve the Dunkirk community."

SDP employs about 28 in the Dunkirk Industrial Park, where it manufactures the EZ-Hauler, a piece of equipment that can get into very tight spaces to set utility poles.

State of the Heart, a not-for-profit that established local offices in 2002, has been assisting patients and their families for nearly 30 years. Today it serves an average of 50 to 60 patients in Jay County on a daily basis. It serves two counties in Ohio and six in Indiana.[[In-content Ad]]