The Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership (SCCDP) hosted its Annual Awards Banquet on Jan. 27. This year’s banquet had over 130 registrants and over 33 businesses were represented. The event was hosted at the Depot for the first time, catered by Chartwells.
“The SCCDP Annual Awards Banquet is a crown jewel event for our organization, where we get to showcase the variety of achievements and successes of the year for our members and community leaders spanning throughout the county,” SCCDP President and CEO Jonathan Jank said.
This year’s awards winners were:
2025 Guiding Principles Award—Van and Becky Vahle
2025 Ambassador of the Year—Joe Marshall
2025 Seward County Business Expansion of the Year—Beck’s Hybrids
2025 Allen Barghahn Customer Service Award—Taylor Suhr
2025 Volunteer of the Year—Sue Imig
2025 New Business of the Year—Parker Baby Company
2025 Young Professional of the Year—Zane Francescato
2025 Affiliate Member Business of the Year—Ana Patricia Boutique
2025 Julie Wisehart Creative Business of the Year—Chapters Books & Gifts
2025 Chairperson of the Year—Scott Gierhan
The award videos are available via the SCCDP YouTube channel. The videos were recorded in an interview style to best capture the story of the awards winners.
“Being able to tell the stories of various community members and businesses is a highlight of our year. There is so much to celebrate in Seward County, and this banquet gives us a chance to tell just some of those stories,” Jank said.
The public and private sectors come together during the event to build relationships and reflect on the triumphs of last year. Being able to bring a variety of people and businesses together to celebrate civic engagement is what the Awards Banquet is all about to Jank.
“The event this year was a great success with well-deserving awardees, memorable moments and cultivation of connections made among those in the business community,” Jank said.
The SCCDP’s Annual Report is also presented during the banquet. This document discusses the achievements of the organization in the last year. These goals have been set to fulfill the SCCDP’s strategic plan which is decided in partnership with the Board of Directors and is mediative of public and private sector members’ priorities. This document can be found on the SCCDP website.
For more ways to engage with SCCDP in the future, you can go to their website for more information: www.cultivatesewardcounty.com.
