Winners of Aspire Johnson County’s business awards pose for a photo following a chamber event at The Garment Factory on Thursday in Franklin.
Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
County chamber officials and area businesses celebrated their successes at an Aspire Johnson County luncheon Thursday.
Aspire, the county’s chamber of commerce, held its annual Celebrate Aspire Business Awards event Thursday at the Garment Factory in Franklin. The event featured a look back at Aspire’s achievements over the last year and culminated with five area businesses receiving awards celebrating their success.
Year in review
Despite inflation and rising interest rates, 2022 was a year of growth and strong economic activity. Last year, Aspire helped facilitate $308 million in investment from expansions and new companies — double the amount in 2021 — creating 801 new jobs, said Rob Campbell, the 2023 chair of the chamber’s board.
Some of these companies include Coffeehouse Five and Sundown Gardens in Bargersville, GMI and NSK in Franklin, and Sarnova and VisionQuest Eyecare in Greenwood, Campbell said.
“These are excellent examples of the types of employers our economic strategic plan focuses on,” he said.
In chamber news, they added a new staff team position to help their support business retention and expansion goals. They also once again partnered with Festival Country Indiana, the county’s tourism bureau, to continue far-reaching marketing efforts, Campbell said.
In 2022, the chamber also took a “bold leap” into developing the workforce talent pipeline by launching the Education Industry Collaborative, which is focused on connecting students with local experiential learning and employment opportunities, he said. They also received a grant from the state of Indiana and partnered with Earlywood Education Services to transition a staff member into a School to Work specialist role, allowing her to focus on talent pipeline initiatives.
“We are especially proud of our work to connect students with disabilities to rewarding careers,” Campbell said. “This unexpected partnership and grant opportunity allowed us to accelerate out timeline for tackling workforce — the most critical economic driver of our time.”
The chamber also saw a surge in membership and networking event attendance in 2022. More than 200 new businesses and organizations joined Aspire, and the chamber’s popular “Coffee Connections” networking program now regularly has more than 100 or more business leaders at each event, he said.
Aspire also spent time lobbying at the Indiana Statehouse on business bills, including successfully lobbying for the protection of business freedom and coming out against “onerous restrictions and expensive regulation” on employers trying to reopen after the coronavirus pandemic, Campbell said. The chamber was also able to stop a government “price-setting” bill, which he said was antithetical to free market principles and set a dangerous precedent for future measures, he said.
Business success
Five area businesses were also presented with awards for their excellence and success in 2022 at the event. There were 12 finalists for five award categories covering business success and excellence in talent development.
The Business Success Award recognized companies that demonstrated qualified success and creativity in the face of adversity. The category was subdivided into two sections: for-profit companies and non-profits. Representatives of ASAP Payroll Service and Spotlight Strategies took home awards for the for-profit category and representatives of Coffeehouse Five and the Imagination Library of Johnson County took home awards in the nonprofit category.
ASAP Payroll Service, located on the southside of Indianapolis, is dedicated to keeping businesses in compliance and making sure their client employees are paid on time and accurately, Campbell said. ASAP officials invest in best-in-class software, hire top-notch employees and provide employee training on ever-changing payroll and HR laws, he said.
“As a result, ASAP Payroll Service has been in the top 10% of their peers by client employee census over the last two years,” Campbell said.
The company also plays an active role in legislative matters affecting their industry and actively supports the local business community through their volunteerism, employee engagement, and sponsorships. ASAP officials are passionate about educating small businesses on the changing payroll regulations and they are champions at promoting other small businesses, he said.
Spotlight Strategies, located in Franklin, is a full-service commercial printer, custom apparel producer, promotional item provider and custom sign designer serving the greater Indianapolis area. Campbell said company officials attributed their success and growth in part to investing in new equipment and technology when most in their industry chose not to.
Despite supply-chain issues and a tightening labor pool, Spotlight Strategies was able to find a path to growth, as sales volume has spiked 29% in the past three years. They also give back to the community through their nonprofit, Pay It Forward Johnson County, and have now raised and given back more than $200,000 in grants to over 1,200 community recipients since it started, Campbell said.
Coffeehouse Five is a coffeehouse, bakery and coffee roaster that uses its net revenue to meet mental health needs in Johnson County. The coffeehouse has seen remarkable growth and stability over the past 12 years when the average independent coffeehouse does not make it past year three, Campbell said. The local chain has locations in Greenwood, Franklin and Bargersville.
“They have been able to expand their reach across Johnson County with three locations,” he said. “And because of the growth in coffee shop revenue, they have been able to increase the total dollar value of counseling services provided for free to the community each year.”
The Imagination Library of Johnson County is one of 3,500 affiliate programs of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and because of the hard work and dedication of their board of directors, the library’s income grew from $23,000 in 2017 to over $134,000 in 2022, Campbell said. The library last year expanded to serve all children in Johnson County. All local parents can sign up their children to get a free book every month from birth to age 5.
“By thinking creatively, hosting virtual fundraisers and creating a unique event called Storybook Breakfast, the team at Imagination Library of Johnson County has ensured children continued to receive their books,” he said. “This results in boosting children’s early learning, increasing their vocabulary and supporting family bonding.”
Talent development
The Excellence in Talent Development Award recognizes employers who have demonstrated excellence in talent recruitment and retention. Independence Village of Greenwood, a senior living community offering enhanced living, assisted living and memory care, was this year’s recipient.
Independence Village has an employee referral program that incentivizes employees to help recruit potential hires. Additionally, their parent company created an internal staffing agency to help fill open positions, converting what would have been temporary employees to permanent hires, Campbell said. The company also offers continuing education opportunities for staff team members and leadership mentors new hires.
“This has resulted in personal growth and clear career pathways for employees,” he said. “It has also resulted in the company retaining top talent and produced a pipeline for internal promotions.”
After receiving their awards, many winners said they were surprised to receive them. They thanked their employees, the business community and the community as a whole for their support.
Christian Maslowski, Aspire’s president and CEO, thanked both the business community and their members for their support of the chamber.
“Thank you for your investment, volunteerism and thought leadership. We are building a stronger economy together,” he said.
AWARD WINNERS AND FINALISTS
Here’s a look at the winners and finalists from Aspire Johnson County’s Business Awards held Thursday at the Garment Factory in Franklin:
Business Success (For-Profit)
Winner: ASAP Payroll Service and Spotlight Strategies
Other Finalists: AccuPay, Inc., Express Employment Professionals and VisionQuest Eyecare
Business Success (Nonprofit)
Winner: Coffeehouse Five and Imagination Library of Johnson County
Other Finalists: Greenwood Public Library, Johnson County Public Library and Resources of Hope
Excellence in Talent Development
Winner: Independence Village of Greenwood
Other Finalists: Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial
Correction: April 28, 2023 at 11:30 a.m.
A previous version of this story included a pullout that inadvertently omitted some of the winners. It has been updated with all of the winners.
