It was a night of awards, remembrance and of honoring hard work and dedication at the 2019 Christian County Chamber of Commerce Compass Awards Thursday.
In a special recognition, the Chamber remembered and honored local restaurant The Place, which recently experienced great loss in the deaths of the owners, Dean Place and Myra Kaye Hancock, both within a year of each other. Melissa Spurr presented the recognition to daughter Scarlet Hancock, saying the community mourns the loss of them both and strives to keep their memory alive.
The winner of the Agriculture/Agri-business award was Hopkinsville Elevator, Cayce Mill Supply took home the Century Award—having just recently celebrated their 100 year anniversary—and Chick-fil-A was the recipient of the Food Service Award. Planters Bank was the winner of the Friend of the Community Award, Save More Drugs was the recipient of the Health and Wellness Award, SKY Pediatric Dentistry won the Horizon Award and All Kleen Services took home the Industrial/Commercial Services Award.
The Regionalism Award went to the United Way of the Pennyrile, with President Annie Catron thanking the community for their constant support in their efforts.
The Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library claimed the Non-Profit Award, West Side Body Shop took home the Quality Service Award, the Residential Services Award went to Dulin Design Group and the Farmer’s Daughter claimed the Retail Award.
In a surprise change, the Sunset Award went to a person, instead of a business that closed its doors—it went to Taylor Hayes, longtime owner and publisher of the Kentucky New Era who recently made the decision to sell the paper and step away. He says the choice was a tough one but the newspaper will continue on.
The Specialized Service Award was claimed by the Silo Event Center, where the event was held, and Casey Jones Distillery was the winner of the Spirit of Entrepreneurism Award. The winner of the $5,000 New Venture Entrepreneur Competition was Vansauwa’s Tacos and Vegan Eatery.