PHOTOS BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR … Martin, Sprocket & Gear received the Business of the Year Award by the Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce at its annual banquet on Tuesday, February 17 at the Veterans Memorial Building. From left, Tom Gearhart (corporate sales), Jeff Gerhart (general manager) and Brad Bowers (Vice President).
OUTSTANDING CITIZEN AWARD … Receiving the 2026 Montpelier Area Foundation Outstanding Citizen Award was the Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Front row from left: Lauren Oxender, Morgan Cameron, Angie Humphrey, Kara Custer, Connie Nickells, Kelly Herzog, and Apryl Cluckey. Back row from left: Jan Desterhaft, Darrin Repp, Danny Smith and Jason Rockey. Not pictured was Travis Lichty.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual banquet on Tuesday, February 17 at the Williams County Veterans Memorial Building.
A social hour began the evening festivities followed by the invocation from Pastor Jan Desterhaft of the First Presbyterian Church prior to the buffet dinner which was catered by Pillars of Fire by Courtney Buchanan.
Following the buffet dinner, Montpelier Police Chief Dan McGee, who served as emcee for the banquet, opened the program with a few remarks.
McGee told the audience that one of the things he was most proud of as police chief was the partnership between the police department and the Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We’ve partnered with the Chamber for 20-plus years for the Halloween event, and it’s gotten better,” said McGee.
“We really do enjoy working with the Chamber, so much so, this year at our banquet we gave the Chamber and executive director Kelly Herzog our Community Partnership Award and they’ve earned it.”
Chamber vice-president Lauren Oxender presented the State of the Chamber Address highlighting the activities the Chamber has accomplished this past year.
“I want to say thank you to everyone who is working behind the scenes and taking time out of their busy working days to put this event together this evening,” said Oxender.
“With our chamber fearless leader Kelly Herzog at the helm, it seems there is no task that the chamber is not willing to take on. It’s all thanks to our great leadership and the time and dedication from our members of the board and also the volunteers.
“Because of all the wonderful businesses such as yourselves throughout our community that donate time and money to make this town so great.”
Among the many highlights in which Oxender addressed was Project Hero Banner, which was started in March 2025 and on April 25, 2025, the first batch of 130 banners was completed and displayed on light poles throughout town.
“We still have at least 25-plus on the wait list for future banner hangings,” said Oxender.
She also thanked the Montpelier veterans Jim Keesbury, Jerry Keesbury and Larry Lee as well as the Village of Montpelier electric department and Tim Fry and his crew in helping the chamber accomplish this task, so they can honor those who served our country.
A Spring Soiree was held on May 10 with a Farmers Market, music and guided tours by Four-of-a-Kind entertainment. In June, the chamber moved their office to Broad Street, conveniently located next to a great lunch spot.
Last summer, the Chamber took over the Tuesday Night Cruise-In events on Empire Street. She thanked Chris Kannel for his guidance and showing the ins and outs of the event and helping make it a success.
A Super Cruise-In was also held during the Bean Days celebration with over 100 cars registered.
In August, the Chamber hosted its annual golf outing at Suburban Golf Club. There were 18 teams participating in the event.
On October 25, the Chamber hosted a Harvest of Sweets Walk in downtown Montpelier with shopping, food and music highlighting the event.
Twenty-three vendors throughout Montpelier participated in the event having a sweet to give away to each person. There were 185 tickets sold.
The Chamber also hosted its annual “Halloween in the Park’ event alongside the Montpelier Police Department where they handed 295 goodie bags of candy along with cider and cookies to the youth and families of the village.
There were also games, crafts, and a Halloween costume contest along with the performance of the Montpelier High School band.
Throughout the year, the chamber has continued to host its “food for thought” program which takes place on the last Wednesday of the months of January, April, July and October. These events only have continued to grow in attendance.
“This past year, we are proud to say, in big part to Kelly (Herzog) and all of her hard work, that the Chamber has added 19 new members,” said Oxender.
“We’ve hosted six ribbon cuttings for new businesses and made updates to our website and Facebook page. We look forward to great things happening in 2026, especially that this year we are celebrating the Big America 250.
“I know Sandy (Gordon) and Kelly (Herzog) have some things planned for this year that are going to be very fun for our community. I’m very much looking forward to it.
The Montpelier Jazz Band, under the direction of Rachel Krueger, performed four musical selections for the audience. The chamber then presented the jazz band a small gift for its performance.
The featured speaker was Sandra Gordon, who is also the Montpelier Parks and Recreation Director who spoke about the America 250 Celebration.
Gordon brought a loaf of bread for her presentation; the same type of soft bread made during the American Revolution when the soldiers were in camp.
“When you think about the American Revolution, we tend to think of big moments, famous names, stirring speeches, dramatic paintings,” said Gordon.
“Revolutions don’t actually run on speeches, they run on food, they run on supplies, they run on everyday people to show up and do meaningful work.”
Gordon mentioned that she had spoken at the chamber banquet a few years ago talking about a town’s anniversary that Montpelier was planning to celebrate.
“What stands out to me now is not what didn’t happen, but what did,” said Gordon. “During a time when a lot of communities stalled, this one (Montpelier) quietly went to work”
Among the community’s achievements, she had mentioned that a splash pad was built. A river trail that had been overgrown for years was cleared, reopened, and improved.
“It didn’t just come back; it became something people truly celebrate,” she added.
“A new park appeared downtown, not just an idea on paper, but a real place now where people now gather. The downtown cruise-in didn’t fade away; it was re-energized.
“A new farmers market didn’t just survive it grew so much that now there is a wait list for vendors. The Spring Soiree and Harvests of Sweet events brought people back downtown.
“And Bean Days at Founders Park is growing into something that people talk about with pride. None of that happened by accident.”
Gordon pointed out that Montpelier is an official America 250-Ohio Community in which Montpelier will be holding its own America 250 celebration during Bean Days on July 17-18.
“Everyone has something they can offer and when they do the whole town benefits,” said Gordon.
“Revitalizing downtown, supporting businesses, turning good ideas into action. When people contribute in a way of who they are and what they do, the entire community benefits.
“This summer as we mark America 250, we’re not trying to recreate the past, but monitor and learn from it or remember how communities work.
“The Parks and Recreation Department, the Chamber, the Montpelier Public Library and the Bean Days Committee are all working together to help the community celebrate.”
Among the ideas Gordon presented were sprucing up properties, plant red, white and blue gardens downtown, patriotic tie-dye shirts for kids, custom-made America 250 T-Shirt sales by the Chamber at the Cruise-Ins along with many other patriotic-themed activities for kids and a patriotic-themed parade during Bean Days.
There will also be a time-capsule opening from 1976 at the town hall. The time-capsule will be replaced with pictures from the community and signatures of its people this year.
“Bean Days is about shared effort, shared space and shared pride,” noted Gordon. “That’s why our America 250 events fits on naturally alongside Bean Days.
“We hope that everyone will show their support. We are also encouraging each local business to participate in America 250 in the ways of that who they are and what they already do. And to share those promotions with the Chamber so they can help publicize them.”
Local military veteran Jim Anderson gave a few remarks about three projects that Montpelier veterans either led or supported in the community.
Among the projects was the granite benches installed at Riverside Cemetery through the donations of businesses and citizens.
The second one was the Williams County Veteran Memorial at Storrer Park dedicated to all those who died in service, or service-related illnesses.
Third and most important, according to Anderson, is the Banner Program. He said they have tried to do it for many years, but there was always something that stopped the veterans from doing it.
“Once we got Kelly (Herzog) on our team; she made sure it happened,” said Anderson. “I just wanted to thank her personally tonight.”
The Outstanding Citizen Award presented by the Montpelier Area Foundation was awarded to the Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
This year’s Outstanding Citizen Award recipients are Connie Nickells (President), Lauren Oxender (Vice President), Kelly Herzog (Executive Director), and board members, Morgan Cameron, Apryl Cluckey, Jason Rockey, Angie Humphrey, Jan Desterhaft, Darrin Repp, Danny Smith and Travis Lichty.
Montpelier Area Foundation president Kara Custer who presented the award said the community is very fortunate to have a group that refuses to let Montpelier down, but instead they work diligently every day to ensure Montpelier is an exceptional place to live, work and play.
“Their commitment isn’t just professional, it’s personal,” said Custer. “You’ll see these board members everywhere running their own businesses, enhancing our schools, volunteering at church and various service clubs and cheering in the stands at sporting events.
“They aren’t just board members; they are our neighbors and they want to see Montpelier succeed for the next generation.”
Ashley Aston and Lori Brodie representing the Northwest Regional Office of United States Senator Jon Husted who is a Montpelier native presented a proclamation recognizing Herzog for her hard work and efforts with the Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce.
This year’s Business of the Year Award was presented to Martin Sprocket & Gear, a local machining, fabrication, forging, casting, powdered metal technology and machined and injection molded plastic of power transmission components, material handling products and industrial hand tools company.
Established in 1951 in Arlington, Texas, Martin, Sprocket & Gear is now the nationwide leader of power transmission products and the largest bulk material handling conveyor system manufacturer in North America.
Martin, Sprocket & Gear has been an important asset to the Montpelier community since 1970. The company is one of 40 other facilities across the country and four other different continents.
“I just want to thank the Chamber and the Community of Montpelier for this honor, and it means a great deal to all of us at Martin, Sprocket & Gear,” said company general manager Jeff Gerhart.
“The facility here in Montpelier didn’t thrive just on the strategy and the thought of these guys that came up here and put this plant here in Montpelier. It was really driven by the employees here in Montpelier.
“We now have second and third generation family members that come through our doors and work there, which is a testament to the quality of people. We appreciate the hard work of all those people.”
Gerhart also stressed the appreciation of the Chamber Business of the Year Award.
“This award belongs to the employees as much as it does to Martin, Sprocket & Gear,” said Gerhart.
“Just the years of service they all put in, we appreciate this very much. Thank you for supporting us for the last 50-plus years. We’re proud to call this community home.:
The Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce thanked those who helped with the annual banquet.
They include Pillars of Fire by Courtney Buchanan, The Promises We Make Wedding Venue, Dan McGee, Miss Montpelier Queens, Miller’s New Market, Montpelier Public Library, Montpelier Exempted Village Schools and Montpelier Area Foundation.