Top Row left to right:

Nelson honored for service: Jeannene Baur presented Alfred Nelson with this year’s Senior Citizen Award for contributions to the community over the years.

Edds named Athena winner: Sue Edds (left), a retired banker who remains active by volunteering in the community, was named the 2002 Athena Award winner Wednesday in recognition of her dedication to the advancement of service and professionalism. With Edds is award presenter Dawn Ruge, 2001 Athena winner.

New construction nets awards: Three local businesses were honored with awards for New Construction during the Duneland Chamber of Commerce’s annual summer awards banquet Wednesday. Pictured (left to right) are award presenter Jeff Trout; Hilton Garden Inn general manager Jim Daly; Duneland Health and Wellness Institute executive director Sandy Stoub; American Trust and Savings Bank President Phil Grenchik; and chamber presenter John Marshall.

Bottom Row left to right:

Putting Duneland on the Map: Lakeshore Gymnastics and the Chesterton High School Show Choirs each were recognized Wednesday by the Duneland Chamber of Commerce for putting Duneland’s best face forward during 2002. Award recipients are (left to right) Lakeshore president and co-owner Michael Bachuchin; operations manager Carol Campbell; pre-school director Rebecca West; pre-school consultant and co-owner Kathleen Kelemen; vice-president and co-owner Bob Kelemen; and program coordinator and co-owner Maria Bachuchin. Mark Chamberlain of the chamber (second from right) presented the Show Choir award to director Linda Pauli.

Torch bearers recognized: Joshua Jacobs and Kim Goldak both carried the 2002 Winter Games Olympic torch earlier this year. Wednesday, the Duneland Chamber of Commerce honored them for their achievement and Putting Duneland on the Map. Pictured (left to right) are Jacobs’ grandmother, Kathy Wahl, who accepted because Joshua is stationed in Missouri with the U.S. Army; chamber presenter Jim Jeselnick; and Goldak.

Renovation winners named: Duneland Chamber of Commerce executive director Laurie Franke-Polz (left) congratulates winners of the chamber’s 2002 Renovation Award Wolfgang Nothelle representing Burns Harbor’s J&F Steel (center) and Pat and Ken Baur, who own and renovated the former Ben Franklin store on Broadway into three commercial units.

(Tribune photos by Dana Gilbertson)

By PAULENE POPARAD

Sue Edds and Alfred Nelson shared top honors at the Duneland Chamber of Commerce summer awards banquet Wednesday.

Edds, a retired bank manager who continues to be involved in community activities and organizations, became the 17th recipient of the Athena Award, which was presented by last year’s winner, Dawn Ruge.

Nelson received the Senior Service Award from Jeannene Baur. Nelson joined a distinguished list of 12 previous winners, and he is still active in the United Methodist Church, the Duneland Historical Society, and a scholarship is awarded annually by the Chesterton-Porter Rotary Club in his name.

Also recognized last night in ceremonies at The WaterBird were Renovation Award winners Ken and Pat Baur for remodeling the former Ben Franklin store in Chesterton, and J&F Steel in Burns Harbor for a major expansion of plant operations there.

New Construction awards were presented to the Hilton Garden Inn at Coffee Creek Center’s main entrance on Indiana 49; the Duneland Health & Wellness Institute in Chesterton; and American Trust and Savings Bank in Porter’s Summertree development on U.S. 20.

Three awards were given for Putting Duneland on the Map.

Lakeshore Gymnastics co-owners Mike and Maria Bachuchin and Bob and Kathleen Kelemen were recipients, as were the Chesterton High School Show Choirs under the direction of Linda Pauli, who accepted the award. Also cited were Joshua Jacobs and Kim Goldak for carrying the 2002 Winter Olympics torch on the northwest Indiana leg of its journey to Utah, Jacobs in South Bend and Goldak in Gary.

Ruge said of Edds, “She knows that success comes from going the extra mile in everything she undertakes. Helping others comes naturally for her.” Edds has held a variety of positions, including that of president in the Duneland Chamber, and she is a board member of the Community Resale Shop and a three-year representative on the Duneland Schools Curriculum Council.

Said Edds, “You get as much as you give when you do volunteer work. It has expanded my group of friends, enriched my life and given me a purpose in life. There are too many people who say they’re bored when they retire; there is such a choice. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done.”

Former Athena winner Jeannene Baur said of Nelson, 92, “Over the years he has been involved in so many activities we hung it up. It was too numerous to mention.”

Nelson retired from the Duneland school system in 1974 after being instrumental in developing the middle school concept and overseeing construction of Westchester Middle School. A bridge along the Chesterton High School nature trail bears his name.

In 1966 Nelson joined the local Rotary, which later named him a Paul Harris Fellow and granted him its outstanding service award.

Nelson said he was very honored and humbled by last night’s chamber award, which he described as “the culmination of many things I like to do. It’s pretty hard to slow down when you’ve been going at high speed.”

Nelson’s son Jim traveled from his home in Norway to be present. A teacher like his father, Jim Nelson said, “When we lived in Clinton County and he was principal of the school there, I got to hear his ease as a public speaker to the children, and to the adults at meetings. He was my primary inspiration.”

Renovation, new construction

The chamber’s John Marshall presented Ken and Pat Baur’s renovation award for converting the 219 Broadway building that his grandfather Walter Baur Sr. first operated as a business in 1938 and was a Ben Franklin store until 2001. The Baurs’ Framing Concepts exposed and restored the grandeur of the former Aron Theater around the theme of an artist’s loft, said Marshall. “This first class facility has brought back a little of old-time Chesterton.”

The current approximately 10,000 square-foot structure now houses Elizabeth Fashions and Ashley’s Jewelry as well as Framing Concepts, which specializes in creative custom framing, art preservation and specialty home-decor items for both retail and corporate design.

Ken Baur later explained why he chose to reinvest in downtown Chesterton rather than sell the building. “We just knew the potential that was there. The last thing we wanted to do was go away. We still wanted to be a member of the community.”

J&F Steel’s award, accepted by Wolfgang Nothelle, will house a state-of-the-art cutting line and two slitters moved here from its former Chicago location, said presenter Mark Chamberlain.

The Burns Harbor site, west of Indiana 149 in Tech Business Center, provides corporate management for four additional steel centers nationwide, and currently employs 56 persons since opening in 1997. The new addition will add 12 employees and six more later. J&F is a wholly owned subsidiary of ArcelorAmericas.

New construction winner Hilton Garden Inn plans a grand opening Aug. 9. General Manager Jim Daly said the 120-room project, chosen for Coffee Creek Center when demographic studies showed a significant potential for growth, has received an excellent reception. “We will be planning to do a little more development there. It will be economy-improvement driven.”

Chamberlain, who presented the award, said the new Hilton is one of 225 Garden Inn properties and the first of five that will open in Indiana in the next three years. The local hotel is owned by Mid-Continent Development and Construction Company and features food and lodging amenities for the business and leisure guest alike.

Although technically both renovation and new construction, chamber presenter Jeff Trout said the Duneland Health & Wellness Institute is an innovative medically-based fitness program and joint venture of St. Anthony Memorial Health Centers and St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers.

The 53,000 square-foot facility, which attracts patrons from age 16 to 90, offers aerobic conditioning, strength training, aquatics, health services, group exercise classes, personal workout programs and nutrition counseling. There also are amenities such as a cafe’, pro-shop and childcare in addition to a wide range of health-care services including family and specialty practices, laboratory, X-ray and urgent care.

Wellness Institute executive director Sandy Stoub said, “We are very, very pleased to receive this award, and pleased to serve the community’s needs. If you haven’t been there, why not? We want to serve the integrated health needs of our friends and neighbors.”

American Trust & Savings Bank president Phil Grenchik accepted a new-construction award. The 80 year-old, family-owned Whiting-based bank also has branches in Crown Point and Hammond. The Porter site is a full-service institution.

“We’re new on the block and happy to be here,” Grenchik said. “You have to get inside to see what’s there. We wanted to blend into the dunes and not stick out.” That was accomplished in both the 2,900 square-foot interior and 1 1/2-acre exterior using native northwest Indiana landscape elements including native grasses and boulders and a two-story rock fireplace with timber mantel and deer-antler chandelier.

Duneland on the Map

Lakeshore Gymnastics was founded at its current home, a former 10,000 square-foot Indiana Avenue roller rink, in 1986 by the Bachuchins and Kelemens after Maria Bachuchin, a teacher, began a small gymnastics program at the Valparaiso YMCA a decade earlier. That program was moved to the Chesterton YMCA in 1978.

Said the chamber’s Jean Phelps, “The Bachuchins and Kelemens are passionate about how they have been able to provide a consistent gymnastics feeder into Chesterton High School.”

Added Phelps, “While they have earned a room full of trophies, they believe it’s the kids and their achievements that far outweigh any of the trophies won. They help kids learn what it is to be prepared, how to handle disappointment, what it means to set goals and achieve those goals, and how to deal with winning.”

Mike Bachuchin accepted for Lakeshore Gymnastics. He said the program has served over 25,000 students in dance, ballet, gymnastics and cheerleading, and 300 children each week are enrolled in pre-school programs.

Chamberlain, whose daughter Elizabeth is a member of the CHS Show Choirs, presented the award to those groups: the 40-member Sandpipers mixed show choir and the 40-member female Drifters show choir, which have won top group and solo awards as well as for individual performances and choreography.

Pauli said, “We are very proud to be honored in this way and to represent Chesterton as a community and as a school. My kids are often referred to as the best-kept secret in northwest Indiana.” She added, “This doesn’t happen alone. I’m very grateful for all the help I receive from everyone.”

Olympic torch bearer Joshua Jacobs is stationed with the U.S. Army at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. His grandmother, Kathy Wahl, accepted the chamber honor on his behalf and expressed Jacobs’ gratitude. He was nominated by McDonalds local store manager Maureen Black for his infectious enthusiasm and chosen to carry the Olympic torch over entries submitted by more than 300 other McDonalds.

Jacobs, 19, hopes to become a chemical operations specialist; he is the son of Ron and Debbie Wahl.

An emotional Goldak accepted her award, which presenter Jim Jeselnick said had special meaning. Goldak, a cancer survivor herself, has donated countless hours working on the Chesterton Relay for Life cancer fundraiser, which in addition to her other community volunteer activities led Mike and Jim Anton to nominate her for the Olympic honor.

Said Goldak, “I am both humbled and proud to receive this award. There is no other area I would prefer to call home or raise my children in.” She urged the community to keep their children safe, and their business and cultural assets vibrant.

Added Goldak, “Duneland belongs to you and me, and we must always be proud to say who we are and where we come from. Only then will the Duneland legacy continue on.”

The Athena Award is underwritten by Harbor Oldsmobile/GMC Truck, and the Senior Award is underwritten by Ashley’s Jewelry by Design Inc.

Posted 7/25/2002