Pennsylvania business community took a break from holiday parties for its annual gala of the very best businesses and executives, holding The Business of the Year Awards and annual induction of Central Pennsylvania Business Hall of Famers on Monday, December 3rd.  McKonly & Asbury has proudly sponsored this event from its inception.  We had even greater cause for celebration as we were joined by one of the first recipients of the annual scholarship program formed by the event's sponsors. 

The evening kicked off with the annual induction of several icons of our business community.  This year's inductees were Yale Eastman - founder of Thermacore, Derek Hathaway - CEO of Harsco Corporation, and Mike and Jane Rice - owners of Utz Quality Foods.  The accomplishments of these hall of famers are a shining example of excellence for our entire region.

The Business of the Year awards are divided into six categories:  Business of the Year in companies from 1-50 employees, 51-100 employees, and 101+ employees, Emerging Business of the Year, Executive of the Year, and Corporate Citizen of the Year. 

This Year's Winners

Each category had several finalists who were profiled in a special section of last week's Business Journal.  The winners, as judged by an independent judging panel, were: New Horizons - Business of the Year in companies from 1-50 employees,  BSSF - 51-100 employees, CS Davidson - 101+ employees, Probity Medical Transcription - Emerging Business of the Year, Rick Reynolds of Reynolds Construction - Executive of the Year, and Gannett Fleming - Corporate Citizen of the Year.

We are particularly proud of finalists Cargas Systems, Herbert Rowland and Grubic, and Dane Harman of Harman Stove Company.

Monica Banks, HACC Scholarship recipient, delivers her remarks.

As clients of the firm, we know well their dedication to excellence and continue to see firsthand how deserving they are of this honor!  Congratulations! 

The Central Pennsylvania Business of the Year Awards is a project of the Central Penn Business Journal and is sponsored by Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, McKonly & Asbury, Capital Blue Cross, and M&T Bank.  This year the major sponsors jointly announced that they will once again be funding a scholarship for business students at Harrisburg Area Community College – the permanent home of the Central Pennsylvania Business Hall of Fame. 

We were honored to be joined by Monica Banks, one of the scholarship's first recipients.  She shared her personal story of overcoming a checkered past, to build a successful life as a single mother and business student, with a dream of one day running her own employment agency and recruiting firms focused on working with employees overcoming criminal records.  What an inspiring story of how this scholarship can and will make a difference!

Next year's nomination process will begin in late summer.  Watch for details in this newsletter and in the Central Penn Business Journal!