With just a few short weeks left in the year, Crossroads Chamber gathered the Region’s business community to celebrate at Lighthouse Restaurant for its Annual Holiday Installation & Awards Luncheon.
The luncheon, a longstanding tradition for the Chamber, saw Crossroads celebrate a historic year where it completed a massive rebrand, welcomed 100 new members, and cut the ribbon on 36 new buildings. The Chamber also recognized a handful of special individuals with different awards to commemorate their work and achievements.
“It’s been a fantastic year for us, we’ve exceeded all of our numbers from the past,” said Deann Patena, president & CEO of Crossroads. “We’re super happy to be here, celebrating the holidays, and bringing a bit of cheer to everyone.”
Over 100 chamber members attended the festivities. They took pictures with Santa, chatted about life, and then got down to business. Crossroads installed its 2024 board of directors. The chamber added three new board members in front of the gathered crowd and also welcomed a new executive committee.
“We have a fantastic board, they bring a lot of knowledge and commitment to the chamber,” Patena said. “We’re super proud of all of them, and very happy to have them with us.”
John Jordan, owner and president of CertaPro Painters of Northwest Indiana, was among those installed. The business owner graduated from Chairman Elect to Chairman of the Board. He praised the work of Patena and his predecessor in the position, Jennifer Doffin.
“We’ve built a lot of momentum over the year; we’ve really put ourselves out there as Northwest Indiana’s chamber,” he said. “There’s a lot of great people on our staff, and Deann is an outstanding president. I’m proud to be a part of it by serving here on the board.”
Doffin, who is also vice president and regional sales manager at Centier Bank, saw the day as the culmination of the team’s countless hours of work, and a hard earned chance to celebrate.
“We did some big things, including the new brand rollout,” she said. “All of those pieces, all of that effort, comes together here. Seeing everyone come together – it’s why we do what we do. It’s all for the business community. It’s a celebration of Crossroads, but it’s also a celebration of all of our members and the year they’ve had. The Northwest Indiana business community is thriving and vibrant.”
The chamber recognized some of the biggest contributors to that thriving community with a handful of awards. Crossroads awarded David Lasser of Commercial In-Sites, LLC, with the Board of Director Service Awards, Matt Scheuer of Purdue Federal Credit Union with the Chairman of the Board Award, and Doffin herself with the Distinguished Service Award.
“It’s the season of giving,” Jordan said. “We want to recognize each other and be appreciative. That’s what this season’s all about. To be able to come together and recognize some of these members who have served the board and chamber so significantly, who have given a lot of personal effort, is important.”
To learn more about Crossroads Chamber, visit crossroadschamber.org