New Philadelphia, Ohio (WJER) - The Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce has honored another group of businesses, organizations and individuals during its annual awards banquet. 

Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital President Bruce James was named Citizen of the Year, as joined the previously announced winners including Kent State Tuscarawas and Whitemeyer Advertising. Chamber President Scott Robinson says the banquet serves as a way to say thank you to those who go above and beyond.

“It really gives us a chance to recognize the businesses that use best practices and treat their customers the right way and just do things that are for the benefit of the community as well as their own business,” he says. 

Tuscarawas County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Dee Grossman was surprised at the banquet with the Hall of Fame award for her role in attracting tourists and dollars to the area. (She says this just makes her want to work harder to bring more people in and boost tourism revenue.)

“This kind of makes us work even a little bit harder because there’s an expectation of excellence, so we’re ok with that. We’ve got a lot of challenges ahead in the travel and tourism industry, and I think we’re up for it,” she says. 

Other honorees included Strasburg Principal Adam Hall as the Educator of the Year, Tuscarawas County Future Leaders of Tomorrow as Organization of the Year, and the Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital as the Safety Council Business of the Year.

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