Business

The Bluffton Lions Club is seeking nominees for the 2024 Citizen of the Year Award.  The award was established in 1981 to honor a person, couple, or person representing a group, who has selflessly given time, effort, and talent for the benefit of those in the Bluffton area, and whose dedication and achievements have profoundly improved the quality of life of the people in this area. 

The nominee may be living, or deceased within the last year. This year’s winner will be feted at a banquet on April 15, 2025. 

Above) 2025 Chocolate Walk photos by Jamie Nygaard

By Paula Pyzik Scott

Jim Enneking, director of the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce provided an update on recent chamber activities at the organization's February breakfast meeting including the following details on board members and the February 6 Chocolate Walk.

The chamber board is currently made up of the following representatives from local businesses.

READ MORE

By Paula Pyzik Scott

The February 14 breakfast meeting of the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce spotlighted the following local businesses in addition to member announcements.

Luvu A Latte, 851 State Route 103, provided breakfast of biscuits and gravy and donut-fruit skewers.

Breakfast sponsor Stratton Greenhouses and Roots by Strattons introduced the 2025 Bluffton Beautification program, which provides and maintains flower pots and hanging baskets in the downtown area. Susie Stratton and Dan Stratton detailed the work that goes into the project, including over 200 hours of labor and 30,000 gallons of water. The Strattons explained a new wrap-around basket liner for the suspended flower that will require less watering and help deal with coconut-fiber liner delivery challenges.

Visit Roots by Strattons, 111 S Main St., for information on sponsorship opportunities or submit the sponsorship form HERE.

PROGRAM

Derek Dukes, who co-owns Southgate Lanes with Brandon Falk, provided a program on how that business has changed since they purchased it in 2020.

READ MORE

By Mark Badertscher and Randall Reeder

Don’t miss this year’s Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference March 11-12, 2025, (Tuesday-Wednesday) at Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio. Connect with other great farmers and CCAs, experience new ideas, and increase your net income. 

The theme is “Getting More from Less.” Cutting costs is key following a year where corn and soybean yields were reduced for many farmers. And crop prices are barely breakeven. We don’t know what the weather will be in 2025, but commodity prices are projected to stay low.

READ MORE

Through March 16, area Girl Scout entrepreneurs will be out and about the community at local businesses, holding drive-through cookie booths, setting up cookie stands in their neighborhood, and taking online orders to ensure cookie lovers can enjoy all their favorite Girl Scout Cookies®.

Saturday, Feb. 22 - Bluffton Community Markets and Wendy's on SR 103
Tuesday, Feb. 25 -  Wendy's on SR 103
Saturday, Mar. 1 - Cory-Rawson High School
Saturday, Mar. 8 - Bluffton Community Markets

This year’s lineup includes the perennially popular Thin Mints®, Caramel deLites®, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, and the Lemonades® — and for the last time, the Toast-Yay!® variety, which will be retired after 2025.

Customers can plan their cookie shopping excursion by visiting www.gswo.org/findcookies and entering their ZIP code to find upcoming booths.

READ MORE

Ten Thousand Villages welcomes Haitian artist Jean François Frisnel as the February 2025 Artist of the Month. His paintings will be on display in the Ten Thousand Villages store during the month of February. The public is invited to come to a reception to meet the artist at 2 pm, Saturday, February 22.

In 1979 Frisnel was born in Carrefour, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He now resides in Lima, Ohio. He says this of his art career:

Pages