TERRE HAUTE — Community involvement was the dominate message Thursday evening at Junior Achievement of the Wabash Valley’s seventh annual Hall of Fame Banquet.

Volunteers, community members, educators and business people were honored throughout the night’s events for their involvement with Junior Achievement with the male and female Rising Star Award, Volunteer of the Year Award, Educators of the Year Awards and Business Person of the Year Award.

“It’s extremely important to honor individuals who give to their community,” said Junior Achievement president Veronica Dougherty, “because if we don’t do that then maybe they won’t feel appreciated enough to continue to do so.”

Junior Achievement is a not-for-profit organization that educates students about work-force readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experimental, hands-on programs taught by business people of the community volunteering their time. It has been in the Wabash Valley since 1965.

It serves Vigo, Vermillion, Clay, Parke and Sullivan counties in Indiana and Clark, Crawford and Edgar counties in Illinois.

Chad Overton and Susan Snider were named the male and female Rising Star Award recipients.

Overton is founder and president of C & K Industries doing business as Servpro, KO Development, Overton Development and Ashton Development. He also serves on the board for the Indiana State University Alumni Association and the board for Canonsburg Corp., a not-for-profit organization that helps promote and maintain safe, affordable housing options for all Phi Kappa Psi fraternity chapters.

“When you receive something like this it’s a fantastic honor, but to be able to share it with a group of people like yourself, even means that much more,” said Overton, also an American Leadership Academy member. “… Please become involved with your community, our children especially, you just never know what life structure you may lead or help someone down the road.”

Snider, marketing and public relations manager for AP&S; Clinic, serves as a Junior Achievement board member and is involved in several other local not-for-profit organizations. She was also the 2006 recipient of Downtown Terre Haute Inc.’s Volunteer of the Year Award.

“When I moved back to Terre Haute four years ago, I really wanted to come back and be a part of the revitalization that was happening in what I truly consider to be my hometown,” Snider said about why she volunteers.

Peggy Wesley, funeral director at Roselawn Funeral Home and Memorial Park, received the Volunteer of the Year Award. She has been volunteering with JA for five years and teaches many classes.

Wesley also is active as the PTO president and sits on the School Improvement Team for Central Elementary School in Clinton.

“If any of you are looking to get active in an organization, this is the organization to get active in,” she said. “JA is wonderful, and it’s great to start with kids because that’s where it all begins.”

As teachers, Douglas Dillion and Marilyn Adamson are with children every day. They were selected to be the Educator of the Year Award recipients. Dillion took home the Administrative Educator of the Year Award while Adamson took the Faculty Educator of the Year Award.

Adamson has been teaching at Jackson Township School in Clay County for more than 30 years. She was the 2006 WTHI Golden Apple recipient and Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year from Clay County.

“The greatest investment that we can make in our children today is to show them that we can love each other genuinely and unconditionally, we can forgive each other fully when we fail and we can serve each other graciously,” she said in her thank-you speech.

Dillion began teaching at Honey Creek Middle School in 1993, and was one of less than 600 nationally to be selected as the 2006 Disney Teacher of the Year. He’s also served on various educational committees and boards, and is currently a curriculum coordinator/career and technical education director for the Vigo County School Corp.

“I want to thank JA and everybody that’s involved in JA,” he said after thanking his colleagues, friends and family.

Bart Colwell, president and CEO of Terre Haute Savings Bank, took home the last award of the evening as he was named the Business Person of the Year. He’s been a banker for 31 years and has served on several local not-for-profit organizations’ boards and committees.

“I am deeply honored to be chosen Business Person of the Year by Junior Achievement,” he said. “As I look around our community and I see many busy, involved people who accomplish so much for so many organizations because they are so passionate about making a difference, I’m quite sure that many more different recipients could have been chosen, and I’m humbled to be considered worthy of the recognition that you’ve afforded me.”

Award winners were selected by nominating committees.

To be chosen for Business Person of the Year, the candidate must be part of a for-profit or not-for-profit organization located within the JA service area; made a lasting contribution within that service area; and his or her professional career must be an example of JA’s purpose “to educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise, business and economics to improve the quality of their lives.”

Rising Star Award candidates’ criteria is the same but they must also be age 40 or younger.

“They need to be pretty clean-cut, great people,” Dougherty said.

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.

By Crystal Garcia

Tribune-Star

Community involvement was the dominate message Thursday evening at Junior Achievement of the Wabash Valley’s seventh annual Hall of Fame Banquet.

Volunteers, community members, educators and business people were honored throughout the night’s events for their involvement with Junior Achievement with the male and female Rising Star Award, Volunteer of the Year Award, Educators of the Year Awards and Business Person of the Year Award.

“It’s extremely important to honor individuals who give to their community,” said Junior Achievement president Veronica Dougherty, “because if we don’t do that then maybe they won’t feel appreciated enough to continue to do so.”

Junior Achievement is a not-for-profit organization that educates students about work-force readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experimental, hands-on programs taught by business people of the community volunteering their time. It has been in the Wabash Valley since 1965.

It serves Vigo, Vermillion, Clay, Parke and Sullivan counties in Indiana and Clark, Crawford and Edgar counties in Illinois.

Chad Overton and Susan Snider were named the male and female Rising Star Award recipients.

Overton is founder and president of C & K Industries doing business as Servpro, KO Development, Overton Development and Ashton Development. He also serves on the board for the Indiana State University Alumni Association and the board for Canonsburg Corp., a not-for-profit organization that helps promote and maintain safe, affordable housing options for all Phi Kappa Psi fraternity chapters.

“When you receive something like this it’s a fantastic honor, but to be able to share it with a group of people like yourself, even means that much more,” said Overton, also an American Leadership Academy member. “… Please become involved with your community, our children especially, you just never know what life structure you may lead or help someone down the road.”

Snider, marketing and public relations manager for AP&S; Clinic, serves as a Junior Achievement board member and is involved in several other local not-for-profit organizations. She was also the 2006 recipient of Downtown Terre Haute Inc.’s Volunteer of the Year Award.

“When I moved back to Terre Haute four years ago, I really wanted to come back and be a part of the revitalization that was happening in what I truly consider to be my hometown,” Snider said about why she volunteers.

Peggy Wesley, funeral director at Roselawn Funeral Home and Memorial Park, received the Volunteer of the Year Award. She has been volunteering with JA for five years and teaches many classes.

Wesley also is active as the PTO president and sits on the School Improvement Team for Central Elementary School in Clinton.

“If any of you are looking to get active in an organization, this is the organization to get active in,” she said. “JA is wonderful, and it’s great to start with kids because that’s where it all begins.”

As teachers, Douglas Dillion and Marilyn Adamson are with children every day. They were selected to be the Educator of the Year Award recipients. Dillion took home the Administrative Educator of the Year Award while Adamson took the Faculty Educator of the Year Award.

Adamson has been teaching at Jackson Township School in Clay County for more than 30 years. She was the 2006 WTHI Golden Apple recipient and Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year from Clay County.

“The greatest investment that we can make in our children today is to show them that we can love each other genuinely and unconditionally, we can forgive each other fully when we fail and we can serve each other graciously,” she said in her thank-you speech.

Dillion began teaching at Honey Creek Middle School in 1993, and was one of less than 600 nationally to be selected as the 2006 Disney Teacher of the Year. He’s also served on various educational committees and boards, and is currently a curriculum coordinator/career and technical education director for the Vigo County School Corp.

“I want to thank JA and everybody that’s involved in JA,” he said after thanking his colleagues, friends and family.

Bart Colwell, president and CEO of Terre Haute Savings Bank, took home the last award of the evening as he was named the Business Person of the Year. He’s been a banker for 31 years and has served on several local not-for-profit organizations’ boards and committees.

“I am deeply honored to be chosen Business Person of the Year by Junior Achievement,” he said. “As I look around our community and I see many busy, involved people who accomplish so much for so many organizations because they are so passionate about making a difference, I’m quite sure that many more different recipients could have been chosen, and I’m humbled to be considered worthy of the recognition that you’ve afforded me.”

Award winners were selected by nominating committees.

To be chosen for Business Person of the Year, the candidate must be part of a for-profit or not-for-profit organization located within the JA service area; made a lasting contribution within that service area; and his or her professional career must be an example of JA’s purpose “to educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise, business and economics to improve the quality of their lives.”

Rising Star Award candidates’ criteria is the same but they must also be age 40 or younger.

“They need to be pretty clean-cut, great people,” Dougherty said.

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.

And the winners are:

• Female and male rising star award

Susan Snider

Chad Overton

• Volunteer of the year award

Peggy Wesley

• Educator of the year awards

Doug Dillion

Marilyn Adamson

• Business Person of the year

Bart Colwell, president and CEO of Terre Haute Savings Bank

Make a difference

• Junior Achievement’s stock market challenge allows people to buy shares of Junior Achievement stock for $25 a share.

One share of Junior Achievement stock funds one child’s Junior Achievement experience.

For more information, visit www.jawv.ja.org, or call (812) 232-6230.