Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce to hold Hall of Fame Luncheon -The News-Herald
Published by: The News-Herald
By: William Tilton
Original article found here
The Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce’s 60th Awards Hall of Fame Luncheon will celebrate decades of champions in business and community.
The Nov. 18 event takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at Cater To You on Bellflower Road in Mentor.
Presented by Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home & Cremation Center, the luncheon honors the Business Leader of the Year, Business of the Year, Special Award of Distinction and recognizes past award recipients while featuring a game day theme.
The dress code is for those attending to sport their favorite team’s colors or jersey to show off team spirit.
This year’s Hall of Fame Honors include:
• Business Leader of the Year — Neil Stein
• Business of the Year — Food For Thought
• Special Award of Distinction — Elfie Roman
️Past award recipients and swearing in new board members will also be part of the event.
“This year’s award recipients truly embody the spirit of Mentor,” said Christine Weber, the chamber’s president and CEO. “Our Business Leader of the Year has shown exceptional vision and integrity, our Business of the Year has woven itself into the fabric of our community through corporate citizenship, and our Special Award of Distinction winner has left a lasting and unique mark. Together, they set a powerful example of excellence, dedication, and community impact for us all.”.
Stein passed the recognition around to his staff at Tour Lake County.
“The award is presented individually, but it is a staff award,” Stein said. “I am real lucky to have them. When I made the move coming from the Lake County Captains from sports to tourism, we try to market the whole region, we take huge pride in a lot of locals go to our attractions.
“We are not an organization that just does status quo, we are always trying new things,” he said. “We’d like to see attendance go up and revenue go up and that is rewarding. It is fulfilling that when the businesses in the community do well.”
Food For Thought co-owner Bonnie Matthew said she was humbled by the recognition after many decades serving the area.
“We have been part of the Mentor community for 35 years and we are humbled to be recognized as 2025’s business of the year,” Matthew said. “The reward is a reflection of our amazing team — the dedicated individuals who work tirelessly every day to deliver exceptional experiences for our customers. Their commitment to consistency, quality and genuine care is what makes Food for Thought the company it is today.
“We are so thankful for the continued support and trust that our customers and community have given us over the years.”
Roman was thankful for the honor and ready to continue to make Deepwood a meaningful staple in the community.
“This is reserved for special individuals to go above and beyond in their business and it recognizes a leader’s contributions and reflects excellence and innovation,” Roman said. “True spirit, so as I read that once again, I’m totally overwhelmed and humbled I just feel so fortunate to have my career path take me to developmental disabilities 46 years ago and I just love everything about the board of DD and the services we provide the people we support. The colleagues that I work with, the community that I am part of and I’m just truly blessed.”
The deadline to purchase tickets is Nov. 14 at noon. Visit mentorchamber.org for more information.