Pi Lab, Sonny Beck Among Chamber Honorees
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAtlanta-based Beck’s Hybrids Chief Executive Officer Sonny Beck and Carmel-based pi lab earned honors for Business Leader of the Year and Vision 2025 Dynamic Leaders of the Year at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Awards Dinner in Indianapolis. Other winners include State Rep. Dan Leonard (R-50) as Government Leader of the Year and Fishers as Community of the Year. The Chamber also Tuesday formally introduced Vectren Executive Vice President Ron Christian as its new chairman of the board.
Chamber CEO Kevin Brinegar says the winners are "working to make Indiana a better place to work and live," saying the "lasting achievements made by our honorees will impact our state far beyond 2016."
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George Will delivered the keynote address to the crowd of nearly 1,500 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. You can see videos honoring the winners by clicking here.
The chamber says Sonny Beck and his inspirational approach to his business are the driving force behind what it says is the largest family-owned seed company in the country, which has continued to grow over the past 25 years. Leonard, it says, was honored in part for his "leadership, determination and common sense approach on unemployment compensation," which the chamber says has saved billions of dollars. pi labs was honored for the success of its interactive learning toy, Edwin the Duck. The "smart duck" is available through multiple major retailers including Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Best Buy.
The chamber announced the honor for Fishers in September, citing its transformation from a bedroom community into a "smart, vibrant and entrepreneurial city." At the time, Mayor Scott Fadness said Fishers could see as many as 4,000 new job commitments this year.
Three individuals were announced as additional award-winners earlier in the day. Faegre Baker Daniels Partner Stuart Buttrick, Ice Miller Partner Mark Richards and Myers Spring Co. President Todd Miller are the 2016 Volunteers of the Year.
The organization also used the dinner to introduce Vectren executive Ron Christian as its 2017 board chair. He has served on the chamber’s board and various policy committees since 2006. He was also a member of the 24-person Indiana Vision 2025 task force, which developed Indiana’s long-range economic plan.