The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber is proud to honor four guests at its Annual Meeting with special awards that recognize their outstanding contributions in the Valley and beyond.
At the meeting from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. April 10 at Waypoint 4180 in Canfield, the Regional Chamber will present two Valley Champion Awards to Wally King and Gary Wagner, its Spirit of the Valley Award to Dan Rivers and Spirit of the Chamber Award to Shelley Murray.
Wagner also will be the keynote speaker at the breakfast and participate in a fireside chat-style discussion with Mike McGiffin, vice president of Engagement & Investor Relations with Lake to River Economic Development—Keynote Sponsor—on workforce and economic development and the importance of Trumbull, Mahoning, Ashtabula and Columbia counties having their own economic development region in the state.
About the Valley Champion Award recipients:
- King is co-founder of HBK CPAs and Consultants, which has grown into a business consulting and accounting firm with 17 offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Delhi, India. King is also a military hero and someone who is a shining example of the Greatest Generation. A World War II combat pilot, King flew 74 missions before he was shot down on his 75th over Germany and captured. He spent his final weeks of the war injured and in captivity before he was reunited with Allied forces.
- Wagner, a native of Warren, is a professor of Economics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and editor-in-chief of the Public Finance Review. Previously, he served as vice president & senior regional officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland from 2016 through 2018. His interest in economics can be traced back to Youngstown State University, where professors noticed his aptitude in the field and fostered its growth.
About the Spirit of the Valley Award recipient:
- The “Voice of the Valley,” Rivers is the former longtime host of “The Dan Rivers Show” on News Radio 570 WKBN. A transplant from northwest Ohio, he learned carpentry as a teen in his uncle's home construction company. His trade led him to two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Naval Seabees constructing bridges and housing. Upon returning home, he followed his dream of broadcasting. After graduating from Youngstown State University in 1981, he joined WKBN, where he remained until stepping away from the daily grind of radio work in November.
About the Spirit of the Chamber Award recipient:
- Murray is chief executive of Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries. A lifelong resident of the Valley, she worked for more than 20 years in education in various leadership roles, including principal, vice president and head of schools at Valley Christian Schools, before coming to Goodwill Industries in October 2023 as interim CEO. The role was slated to end at the end of 2024, but as fate would have it, she was asked to stay permanently and excitedly approved. Her career also included teaching adult GED classes at a community corrections facility in Youngstown, as well as two terms on the Youngstown City School District board of education.
The hosts of the Ohio Lottery Cash Explosion television show, David McCreary and Alissa Henry, will also join the Annual Meeting to stage a scaled-down version of the popular game show. Attendees will be selected from the crowd to play, have some fun and win Cash Explosion swag.
To attend the Annual Meeting, register
here.