Chamber presents community improvement awards

The first community improvement awards of 2026 were presented during the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Luncheon Jan. 22 in the community room.

Chamber Board Vice President Steve Oster presented the awards to the Coshocton Opportunity School for its Dress-up Main Street project and Ed and Susan Myers and Ted Gottschalk for their work at The Washington.

This was the sixth year for the opportunity school’s Dress-up Main Street project. The goal of the community service project is to provide winter coats and accessories to those in need for free. Students collect the items and then place them on trees up and down Main Street and around the Coshocton County Courthouse.

“The project shows students the importance of giving back and caring for others,” Oster said.

The award was accepted by Diana McKee and Tom Hilgenberg from the Coshocton Opportunity School.

“I want to thank everybody who donated and helped make this a success,” McKee said.

The Washington project breathed new life into the former Washington Elementary School on Chestnut Street. Thanks to the work of Ed and Susan Myers and Gottschalk, it now features apartments and several retail spaces.

“I’d like to thank everyone for this award,” Ed Myers said. “The apartments are full, and we have a waiting list. We thank everyone for this opportunity.”

After the awards attendees heard updates from Chamber Executive Director Amy Crown, Coshocton City Mayor Mark Mills, Coshocton County Commissioner Bob Bigrigg and Coshocton Port Authority Executive Director Tiffany Swigert.

Crown said the chamber had an unbelievable 2025 with 24 ribbon cuttings, 44 new members and a membership renewal rate of more than 94%. She also announced the theme for the new year is “Be in the mix in 2026.”

Coming up for the chamber is its annual health safety and wellness expo Saturday, March 14 from 8 a.m. to noon and the chamber’s annual fundraising online auction Monday through Friday, March 23-27.

Mills is entering his seventh year as mayor and is excited to see everyone continue to work together.

“It takes everyone to get things done,” he said. “We work through our differences no matter our politics. We are all more alike than different.”

Bigrigg agreed with Mills.

“We are diverse, but we still have a common goal, and that is the betterment of Coshocton County,” he said.

Bigrigg announced several projects are in the works at Skip’s Landing including restrooms, a farmers market building and playground areas, and the new roundabout has been accident free.

He also said the county had to adjust budgets to handle a deficit with children services due to the increase in placement costs of children and the number of children in the county’s care.

“They went from having 70 kids to 94 at the end of 2025,” Bigrigg said. “There also are four kids in our county in congregate care and that cost an excess of $1,000 a day, which the county is mandated to pay.”

A children services levy asking for additional operating dollars will have to appear on the ballot again.

Swigert said the port authority has been quite busy helping get dollars for critical infrastructure at the Conesville Industrial Park and will soon be able to announce a new manufacturing company coming to the area.

“We’ve been working with this company since 2022,” Swigert said. “Sometimes what we do takes months or even years, but the impact will be generational.”

Crown thanked everyone for attending and for all they do to help keep moving Coshocton County forward.

“I hope you leave here feeling like we do, energized to hear all your updates,” she said.