By By KATHERINE HEMPEL / Niles Daily Star
BUCHANAN – During the Annual Buchanan Chamber of Commerce Redbud Awards dinner held Thursday at Pennellwood Resort in Berrien Springs, the Chamber announced its 'new' Fall festival – Old Mill Fest.
The awards for local businesses, volunteer of the year and lifetime achievement were also presented for outstanding service to the community.
Chamber president Alice Kring referred to a conference on festivals she and Buchanan Chamber Director Michelle Klarich attended as she explained the search for a new name for Buchanan's Annual Buchanan Fest.
"We learned that the most successful festivals are built around an appropriate theme and we didn't have one," she said. "Presenting a couple of ideas to the Chamber on our return, the board suggested they would like a bigger selection. We then decided to hold a local 'name the festival' competition. We received 10 entries and narrowed it down to five but then could not decide."
Vice President of Recruiting and Safety for Express 1 and Chamber Board member Jeff Curry suggested that Lisa Goolsby, president of Marketing and Growth Strategies in Buchanan and a marketing professor with Andrews University, might have some suggestions. She turned the quandary into a class project for three of her students, who selected the winning entry and developed the festival tagline: "summer's last stop."
Redbud Awards presented included the Small Business Award presented to a local business with less than 25 employees. This year's award went to Redbud Hardware, owned by the Dippo family. The large business award for businesses with more than 25 employees was presented to Express 1.
For the Dale E. Florey Volunteer of the Year Award there were six nominations. Master of Ceremonies for the presentations, Michael Bell of Desenburg, Colip and Bell, admitted it was difficult to chose one as all were deserving of recognition for their community service. Jerry Flenar was presented with this year's honor. Bell noted that Flenar had been "nominated time and time again and his commitment to the people of Buchanan is endless." Esther Florey, widow of the man for whom the Award was named, made the presentation.
The final presentation of the evening was made to attorney John Colip for Lifetime Achievement. His current dedication as President of the Buchanan Community Schools Board was listed along with his work with Miss Buchanan Inc. and the Lakeland Hospital Foundation. Colip was selected from among the five nominees in the category.