Awards honor local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Greater Fort Wayne (GFW) Inc. Thursday presented seven awards to those making an impact across Allen County. The awards, distributed each year as part of GFW Inc.’s Annual Meeting event, honored a small business, an area nonprofit, an organization exhibiting excellence in business, and four local leaders.
This year’s award winners are:
EXCELLENCE IN SMALL BUSINESS AWARD – MKM Architecture + Design
This award honors a small business that demonstrates a high level of excellence through measurable results. Nominate yourself or another small business that is leading the way through innovation, customer experience, growth, collaboration, or other key metrics.
EXCELLENCE IN NON-PROFIT AWARD – Neighborhood Health
This award honors a non-profit that demonstrates excellence through inclusivity, collaboration, and/or results. Nominate yourself or another non-profit making a meaningful difference in ways such as improving our community’s quality of place, partnering with local organizations to maximize collective impact, and/or driving measurable outcomes that create positive change across Allen County.
GREATER FORT WAYNE INC. BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARD – Fort Wayne City Utilities
This award honors a business whose commitment to excellence is evident in innovation, inclusion, belonging, results, community engagement, customer experience, people-first policies, and/or focus on growing the local economy. Nominees will showcase their achievements in 3 categories in which the organization is leading the way.
Barb Smith GFW Inc. Service Award – Commissioner F. Nelson Peters and L. Scott Naltner: This award honors exemplary service to GFW Inc. and dedication to Allen County’s economic growth.
Maclyn Parker Swagger Award for Community Vision and Leadership – John Dortch: This award is given to an individual who exemplifies the persistence and will to make Fort Wayne-Allen County a thriving community by being a strong advocate for economic development.
Elected Official of the Year Award – Steve Corona: This award honors exceptional efforts by elected officials to build a stronger community—and grow jobs and wages—by creating the best environment to attract and retain talent and business.
“The transformation we’ve witnessed over the past decade has been truly remarkable,” said John Urbahns, president and CEO of GFW Inc. “These award winners exemplify the vibrant momentum driving Fort Wayne and Allen County forward.”
The award presentations were part of GFW Inc.’s Annual Meeting event, which celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Greater Fort Wayne Inc. as well as the community’s accomplishments from the past 10 years. About 650 people gathered for the celebration event Thursday evening at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
During the event, GFW Inc. premiered a 10-year Anniversary highlight video on the accomplishments that have been noted over the last 10 years while showcasing the many projects that have defined a decade of success. The video can be viewed here.
Media Alert: Pictures are available upon request. Please contact mailto:jatienzofisher@gfwinc.com
