SYRACUSE - The Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce held its annual award banquet Thursday evening at the Oakwood Event Center in Syracuse.
Board President Jeff Dyson was the master of ceremonies and he explained how the winners were chosen. He said they asked the community for nominations and then took the top three or four and asked the community to vote on those nominees.
New Business of the Year winner was The Lakeside. Other nominees were Shades to Shutters and Urban Oaks Apartments.
Small Business of the Year winner was REMAX Partners. Other nominees were Wee Warrior Academy and Brew City.
Large Business of the Year winner was Oakwood Resorts. Also nominated were Polywood and The Papers.
Organization of the Year winner was Syracuse-Wawasee Rotary Club. Also nominated were LITE and Syracuse-Wawasee Trails.
Educator of the Year winner was Eric Speicher, former principal of Syracuse Elementary School. Also nominated were Christy Zibarth, Cindy Brady and Angela Bontrager.

    Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce award winners and a couple of presenters gathered for a photo. Pictured (L to R) are, seated: Ashley Griffin, The Lakeside, New Business of the Year; Rita Davis and Melody Cusick, REMAX Partners, Small Business of the Year; Jeanetta Slabaugh, Ambassador of the Year; Susan Stump, Syracuse-Wawasee Rotary, Organization of the Year; Alyssa Trout, Oakwood Resort, Large Business of the Year; standing: Cassy Griffin, The Lakeside, New Business of the Year; Marlies West, Goshen Home & Health, presenter; Ron Baumgartner, The Papers, presenter; Eric Speicher, Educator of the Year; Dr. Erick Leffler, Dynamic Spine, Syracuse-Wawasee Rotary, Organization of the Year; Patrick Moore, Volunteer of the Year; and Thomas Boseker, Oakwood Resort, Large Business of the Year. Photo by Denise Fedorow
  

The Ambassador of the Year winner was Jeanetta Slabaugh. Other nominees were Ryan Austin and Mason Slabaugh.
Volunteer of the Year winner was Patrick Moore, who served as lieutenant governor for the Land of Lakes Kiwanis Club. He is involved in youth sports and is president of the Lakeland Youth Center. Also nominated for volunteer of the year were Kip Schumm, Mark Knecht and Jeff Wells.
After the awards, Chamber Director Ashley Dillon spoke briefly about the renovations at the chamber office and said 40 businesses donated to the renovations, which is 100% funded by donations.
Sagamore Of The Wabash Presented
A surprise presentation of the highest award in the state of Indiana was given at the end of the award presentations — the Sagamore of the Wabash.
State Rep. Craig Snow (D22) presented the award to Larry Coplen, owner of Coplen Construction. He explained that Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ashley Dillon contacted him about state recognition for Coplen and Snow said he needed to have a summary of why the person deserved the award.
Snow said, “The next day my email was full of recommendation letters.”
He told the crowd that the term Sagamore described a lower Native American chief but one who the true chief looked to for advice. The Sagamore of the Wabash is the highest honor the governor can give.
Snow read quotes from some of the letters about Coplen, who has been in the construction business for over 30 years and is a past recipient of the John C. Hart award and past president of Indiana Builder’s Association.
Some of the letters said Coplen was “an encouraging individual,” a “man who cares about his customers and has a heart for his employees.” They said Coplen was very involved in Kosciusko County and “always gives time, talent and treasure wherever it’s needed in the community.”
Coplen said, “I had no idea! This is definitely a tremendous honor.”
He told the crowd he was “grateful working with all the builders in the area —they’re all wonderful and willing to help. I’m thankful to represent that group.”
Kip Tom,
Keynote Speaker
Kip Tom, CEO of Tom Farms in Leesburg, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture and Chief of the United States Mission to the U.N. Agencies in Rome from 2019-21, was the keynote speaker.

    Kip Tom, CEO of Tom Farms, was keynote speaker for the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce banquet, speaking about food security equaling national security at home and abroad. Photo by Denise Fedorow
  

He spoke about how food security is national security and how America’s food security is being threatened. He traveled the world with World Food Organization and said 70% of the places where they delivered food aid is because of man-made conflict — wars or terrorist activities. He suggested that food insecurity leads to human trafficking and is a “breeding ground for terrorist activity.” He also said that 50% of food being delivered to those in need is stolen by terrorists who sell it for arms.
“That’s why food security is national security,” Tom said.
He said many of the immigrants coming across our southern border are from Central America where food security is an issue. “That’s why they’re coming across,” he said.
He said the French and Russian Revolutions were driven by food insecurity. Even in this country in the 1920s and 1930s people were starving due to the Dust Bowl. Food insecurity was an issue and people were spending 40% of their income on food. Some couldn’t get food because the supply chain that exists now didn’t exist then.
In World War II, the U.S. had to figure out how to feed 9 million troops around the world. The country had to learn to process food to feed the troops. The U.S. continued to advance its food systems and continued to increase productivity.
Tom said he testified to Congress on Wednesday about how the U.S. has taken food security for granted and losing its national security approach to food. He said the danger is 70% of the crop protection — phosphorous - is being bought from China and the fertilizer - potassium - comes from Russia. “So, we’re actually funding their war in Ukraine.”
He said, “We are very vulnerable to countries that are our adversaries.”
He told the crowd in 2020-2021 more than 6 million acres were not planted because of the labor shortages and that’s tied to immigration. He said the New Deal after WWII led to growth as the U.S. built infrastructure.
“But we have to keep investing — we passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, but we have to do more. I don’t like spending money anymore than the next person, but this is what governments should be spending money on,” he said.
And he added getting companies back in the U.S. — the CHIP bill - was a start. Tom said there is hope on the horizon, but this was a call to action to realize America’s vulnerability and correct it.