Unified Bank retail banking executive Stacy Carpino, from left, Wesbanco banking center managers Devan Kubancik, and Denise Jones, Ohio Valley Chapter of A Special Wish Foundation executive director Annmarie O'Grady, ECO Center superintendent Randy Lucas, and facility manager Mark Cook, and Pawz in Time co-owners Beth Powell and Sherri Clendenin celebrate coming home as the big winners of the 2026 St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce award dinner. (T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA)

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Ohio Valley Chapter of A Special Wish Foundation Executive Director Annmarie O’Grady was named the St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Service Above Self Award winner.

The Service Above Self Award is given to an individual the chamber believes has gone above and beyond for the community.

“A Special Wish Foundation is so unique to the community because we’re the only local children’s wish-granting organization,” O’Grady said. “We’re an independent chapter of an Ohio-based organization called A Special Wish. We are not affiliated with any national organizations, so everything we do is local.”

She added that having the ability to grant wishes for children in the Ohio Valley who have life-threatening illnesses is truly a blessing.

“I couldn’t do it without the board, my co-workers and just this wonderful community, because they really step up and they’re so quick to help support A Special Wish,” O’Grady said. “I just thank Lisa (Kindler) and (St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce Assistant Director) Victoria (Haswell) for recognizing members of the community and for all of the advocacy they do for us.”

She added that being a member of the St. Clairsville Rotary Club is a wonderful way to help give back to the community.

The annual dinner and awards ceremony took place at Belmont College’s Dowler Hall on Thursday evening and is organized as a way for the chamber to celebrate its dedicated members.

St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Kindler said that although the ceremony has been an annual event, this year the chamber decided to shake things up.

“We typically have this awards ceremony in September, but at the end of last year the board discussed it, and we felt that the majority of our big events are typically at the end of the year,” she said. “So we wanted to move it around a little bit to make things a little easier. And so we decided to move the annual dinner into March, which is typically awards season anyway with the Academy Awards.”

Kindler added that another part of the event that was changed is that the awards portion of the evening is now a larger focus rather than having a guest speaker for an hour.

“We decided to dedicate this whole event to our members and to members of the community that help make St. Clairsville and the surrounding areas a great place to live, work and grow as a community,” Kindler said.

This year also saw the inclusion of New Business of the Year.

Kindler said that despite the name of the award, the business doesn’t have to be a new business but just has to have joined the chamber within the past year.

Pawz in Time of Bellaire was selected as the inaugural winner of the award.

Pawz in Time co-owner Sherri Clendenin said that she was speechless about winning.

“It was so unique for us — who would think that training dogs would bring us a nomination,” Clendenin said. “We appreciate everyone in the community.”

Business of the Year was awarded to WesBanco Bank.

WesBanco banking center manager Devan Kubancik said that the bank is honored to be recognized as Business of the Year.

“We have worked really hard the past few years just maintaining our status within the community,” Kubancik said. “We’ve worked hard to provide the best customer service that we can.”

She added that WesBanco strives to do everything it can to be involved in activities that benefit the community.

Community Improvement of the Year was awarded to the ECO Center.

“We are truly appreciative of the award,” ECO Center facility manager Mark Cook said. “We don’t know if many of you have had the chance to come out to our facility, but we would like to invite you out.”

Unified Bank was named the Distinguished Employer of the Year.

“It is something that we are truly proud of at Unified Bank. We often talk about our vision statement, because it really guides everything we do,” Senior Commercial Banking Executive Michael Goclan said. “Our vision is simple but very meaningful — creating better lives and futures for the people and communities that we proudly serve,” Goclan said. “That idea shapes how we approach our work. We invest in our communities and support our team members.”

He added that if you were to look around St. Clairsville, you would see some of those commitments in action.

“We’re proud to have our name connected with the places where families gather, kids compete and communities come together. That includes the Unified Junior Rec Center and the Capstone Soccer Complex. Supporting spaces like these is one small way we try to give back to the communities that we support,” Goclan said. “St. Clairsville has been an important part of our strategy for the growth of our company. Today, we’re proud to have two banking centers serving this community, and we’re excited about what comes next.”

He said that the bank plans to continue to expand operations and bring more good-paying jobs to the community.

Kindler said that the criteria for each of the awards is that recipients must be a member of the chamber.

“It has a lot to do with how active and involved they are in the community, in the chamber and what they do within their own organization to help out the community,” she said.