Award nominations are open

It’s time to honor local residents and businesses.

Both the Jay County and Fort Recovery chambers of commerce are accepting nominations for their annual awards.

Nominations for the Jay County chamber’s 2020 Community Awards opened last month. They will be accepted through Jan. 29, with the nomination form available at bit.ly/JCchamber2020 or at the chamber office, 118 S. Meridian St., Portland. Awards included are citizen, business, industry, young professional, not-for-profit and innovator of the year, lifetime achievement, Dunkirk Community Commitment and small community commitment.

The Fort Recovery chamber opened its nominations for its citizen of the year, hall of fame and business of the year awards this week. Nominations will be accepted through Feb. 1 with forms available at frchamber.org, village hall, Fort Recovery Library, Fort Recovery Post Office, Mercer Savings Bank, Second National Bank and First National Bank.



Quinn promoted

Samm Quinn, a former reporter for The Commercial Review, has been promoted to assistant print editor of the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Quinn, who was The CR’s city reporter in 2013 and 2014, will coordinate print features and the business journal’s special publications, including Women of Influence, Forefront and Indiana 100. She has been with the publication since 2018.

While at The Commercial Review, Quinn earned a third-place award from Hoosier State Press Association for best news coverage with no deadline pressure. She also contributed to the paper’s first win for general excellence in its history in 2014.

She left The CR in December 2014 and was a reporter at The Daily Reporter (Greenfield) before joining the staff of the Indianapolis Business Journal.



Selected for council

First Bank of Berne president and CEO Kent Liechty has been chosen to join the Federal Reserve’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council.

The council provides input to the Fed’s board of governors about the economy, lending conditions and other issues. It was established in 2010.

Liechty has led First Bank of Berne for 10 years and has worked for the institution for more than 20.

“Being a member of the CDIAC will provide the opportunity to have a positive impact on the financial services industry through meaningful first-hand input to the Federal Reserve Bank Board on the economy, lending conditions and other market factors impacting individuals and business interests,” Liechty said in a press release.



Rebranding inn

Midmark has announced plans to revitalize and rebrand the former Inn at Versailles.

In a press release last month, Midmark announced plans for a “boutique hotel,” restaurant and event space at the corner of Center and Main Streets in downtown Versailles. Hotel Versailles is expected to open in spring 2022.

“We are extremely excited to move into the next phase of construction with these new, modern facilities,” said Midmark vice president, customer engagement and corporate agile center of excellence Monique McGlinch in a press release. “While the hotel will accommodate our Midmark customers, we believe it will also invigorate the economic vitality for the community for centuries to come.”

The Inn at Versailles has been closed since it suffered severe fire damage in October 2019.



Ossian merging

Ossian State Bank recently announced that it will merge with Farmers & Merchants State Bank.

Holding companies for the banks signed an agreement and plan of reorganization and merger, they announced in a joint press release.

“F&M shares our customer-first culture and community-oriented values, and F&M is a logical and strong fit for our customers, employees and communities,” said Ossia State Bank president and CEO David Morrison in the release. “In addition, F&M has a strong presence throughout our markets and our customers will continue to benefit from local banking relationships and expanded products and service.”

Ossian State Bank has branches in Ossian and Bluffton. Farmers and Merchants’ Indiana locations include offices in Portland and Geneva.



New chief

Dr. Joseph Clemente has taken over as chief of the medical staff at Reid Health in Richmond.

A native of the Philippines, Celemente grew up in Richmond and has been with Reid Health since 2001. He takes over for Dr. Jennifer Bales.

“My goal is to continue the strong history of staff and administration dialogue and collegial work that Dr. Bales started,” Clemente said in a press release. “Even with the difficulties of the pandemic, I know our medical staff has never been more interested, involved and integrated into the Reid system as they are now.

“We, as medical providers, have an active voice in the future of Reid. It is our duty to participate in medical staff work.”



Ardagh supplying

Ardagh Group announced this week that it is supplying Rombauer Vineyards with glass bottles for its wines.

Ardagh, which operates glass manufacturing plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, will supply the bottles from its Sapulpa, Oklahoma, facility. It expanded its production there to help service the growing wine market.

“Purchasing glass bottles that are made in the U.S. gives Rombauer the ability to reinvest in the American economy,” said Rombauer associate winemaker Andrew Holloway. “Their dedication to exceptional glass production makes it a great partnership that allows us to have peace of mind that our glass will arrive on time and to the standard we expect.”



Family closing

Family Video has announced that it will close all of its more than 250 nationwide locations.

Some of the company’s rental outlets already closed this week. The decision came because of the lack of business during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Keith Hoogland, CEO of ownership company Highland Ventures, told the South Bend Tribune.

“I am extremely thankful to our employees and customers that were instrumental in Family Video’s success,” he said. “Without you, we would not have been the last man standing in our industry.”

At the time of the announcement, Family Video still had 81 stores remaining in Indiana. The company plans to sell its merchandise, with details available at familyvideo.com.



Purdue invests

The Purdue Ag-Celerator has invested $100,000 in startup DISCOVER (DIagnostic Sensors for Cause of bOVinE Respiratory disease), the university announced Monday.

DISCOVER is a device for suggesting which antibiotic is most likely to succeed for treatment of bovine respiratory disease on a case-by-case basis. The company was created by Purdue assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering Mohit Verma.

“The goal of this fund is to help Purdue entrepreneurs commercialize innovations and technologies that impact the plant sciences,” said Riley Gibb, director of business development for Purdue Ventures, in a press release. “This was a great showcase of high-quality Purdue startups.”



New leader named

CVS Health announced Wednesday that Michelle Peluso will join the company as its chief customer officer Jan. 25.

The newly created role is designed to be responsible for the customer experience and accelerating the company’s digital strategy. Peluso will also have direct oversite for CVS Health’s marketing and brand strategy, digital transformation and the end-to-end consumer experience.

“Michelle is a seasoned executive with a strong track record in building a world-class consumer experience and delivering results,” said Karen S. Lynch, who will become President and CEO of CVS Health on Feb. 1. “Michelle’s consumer focus will accelerate our work to ensure a connected health experience across all CVS Health touchpoints, as we continue to reshape health care as we know it today.”



O’Reilly to announce

O’Reilly Automotive announced this week that it will release its fourth quarter and full-year 2020 earnings results Feb. 10 with a conference call to follow the next day.

The call will be webcast via the company’s website at oreillyauto.com.