WINONA?LAKE – Joy Loshe was named the Bill Reneker Community Memorial Service Award winner at the Winona Lake Community Appreciation Banquet Thursday night.

Loshe was given the annual award at what may be the last year of the banquet.

The award has been given every year since 1994 to a person who has made an impact in the Winona Community.

Loshe serves on the Art Commission for the displays along Heritage Trail. She is a member of the Winona Lake Preservation Association and has served on the Community Appreciation Dinner Committee since it began in 1998.

Loshe previously served on the Winona Lake Town Council and the planning committee that launched the town’s annual Christmas festival known as Kringlefest.

Loshe said it’s been an honor to live in the town.

“There’s no place I would rather be ... I look forward to the next 25 to 50 years to see where I can help,” Loshe said.

Judy Reneker Burd, who founded the award in honor of her late husband, said she thinks this might be the last year of the award.

Burd said Winona Lake used to be a town with a high crime rate and she wouldn’t let her kids walk to the post office alone. In the last 24 years, it’s tranformed.

“It’s now a destination,”?Burd said.



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She said the orignal plaque had 24 spots on it, and now every spot has been filled so she thought it would be a good time to end it.

“We’ve accomplished our mission. We’ve brought the community together,” she said.

The award was given out at a town council meeting for the first three years, then in 1998, the banquet began.

Town Coordinator Craig Allebach said while this may be the last year of the banquet, he plans to come up with a way to continue to honor people who volunteer in the community.

He said it will probably not include the banquet format, but that they are trying to figure out a new plan.

Allebach said he plans on continuing the award. “The name of the award will stay the same, but the format in which it’s given will change,” he said.

Before the announcement of the award, Allebach went over plans for the town’s future, including a roundabout at Kings Highway, Argonne Road and Park Avenue scheduled to begin in 2021.

He said a grant has been secured, but due to the federal government funding schedule, construction won’t begin until later.

Allebach also said he would like to extend the Heritage Trails all the way from the Stonehenge Subdivision to Lakeland Christian Academy.

Michael Paul, a town resident, spoke to the crowd about the trails, which are about 10 miles of off-road biking paths in the town. He said they are a big part of town’s identity.

Paul warned of the problem of Japanese barberry, an invasive plant species causing harm to the trees around the trails. In addition to causing damage to the ecosystem, Paul said the barberry is a public health risk because it attracts deer ticks, which can carry the disease.

Since there is no forester who serves the area, Paul asked the community to volunteer and help keep the trails maintained.

In other matters:

• Lorraine Deffenbaugh was awarded The Limitless Award by the Winona Lake Park Board.

Holly Hummitch, park director, said the award goes to someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty for public service. This is the first year the award has been given.

Deffenbaugh began a Little Free Library in the park, which allows people to borrow a book or leave a book for others to read.

• Debra Egelske, Cameron and Kayla Summers, and James and Stephanie Folsom were awarded home improvement awards. The award given at the banquet annually goes to residents  who made the best improvements to their home.