MOUNT VERNON — Friday was a night to honor excellence at the Knox County Chamber of Commerce dinner, according outgoing chamber president Steve Oster.
The evening paid tribute to the 12 individuals and organizations who received awards. It also paid tribute to businesses throughout the county.
“Tonight, look around this room; there are 653 people who don’t just do business here. You build here, you hire here, you mentor here, and you invest here,” Oster said.
Oster also paid tribute to the late Karen Wright, who he said showed that “leadership is measured not by titles, but by impact.”
“Her generosity, leadership, and unwavering commitment have left a lasting impact on so many lives. We are grateful for all she has done and the legacy she leaves behind,” he said.
“That’s what a chamber really is: not events, not programs, not meetings, but it’s momentum.”
Steve Oster outgoing chamber president
Oster raised a toast to Knox County, “where deals are done, opportunities get created, and 653 people can agree on one thing: We’re better together.”
That audience gave a standing ovation when Central Ohio Technical College President John Berry announced Bruce White as the recipient of the chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award is bestowed upon a member of the community who makes significant contributions to Knox County and has demonstrated a long-term commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of everyone.
White is the CEO of Knox Community Hospital and a former chamber president. He joins 23 past recipients, many of whom White said he had the opportunity to know and work alongside.
‘A wonderful journey’
Berry shared White’s story as written by White.
It is a “quick story about what happened to me in spite of all my busy plans and how, in the meantime, I found the things that I really love.”
The story starts in a two-bedroom cottage where he lived with his parents and older brother.
It notes that he loves dogs. Always have, always will.
It recounts how he met his future wife, whom he knew instantly that he was going to marry.
White found himself in Louisiana working at Marathon Oil. The couple moved back to Mount Vernon, where White took a job with Cooper Energy Services. They also got a dog.
Joining the Kiwanis Club led to serving on various boards, including the Chamber. “Rare fate” again took his hand when he provided input on the hospital’s information systems.
“I have loved every minute of the opportunities that I have been given. And of course, I still love dogs. Always have, always will,” he wrote.
“It’s been a wonderful journey.”
Bruce White, lifetime achievement award winner and CEO knox community hospital
After receiving the award, White said, “I’ve been fortunate enough to find the things that I love. I’ve been able to make them my life’s work, and I hope, I hope, I hope I get to continue to do that for a while.”
White thanked everyone who supported him over the years, but especially honored his wife, Kathy.
“I still love dogs. But I’ve always loved you. And always will,” he told her.
A year of firsts
Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr served as Master of Ceremonies for the evening. He congratulated those who did not stand on stage for an award, noting the award is not just about the winner.
“It is about your colleagues, it is about your family, it’s about the people who have your back and who you sacrificed time from when you’re at work,” he told the winners.
“So this is a chance for those of us who are around you to share in that success.”
The following are the award winners:
•Judy Klavins Ambassador of the Year: Anissa Treen
•Environmental Sustainability Award: Brown Family Environmental Center
•Heart Award: The Salvation Army, Learning Lighthouse
2025: A Year of Firsts
- New event: Kegs & Quirks Beer and Wine Fest
- New location: 11 S. Mulberry St.
- New website and branding
- New members: 44
- 42 events and programs
- 24 ribbon cuttings
•Qualify of Life Award: Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival
•Volunteer of the Year Award: Julie Lucas, Knox County Chamber Ambassador
•Investor in the Future Award: Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities-Renewal
•Women in Business Leadership: Lacey Filkins, Experience Mount Vernon
•Small Business of the Year: Paragraphs Bookstore
•Business of the Year: The Ohio Eastern Star Home
•Entrepreneur Spirit Award: Vernon View Golf Course
•Leadership Knox Alumni Award: Josh Lester, Mount Vernon Fire Department
Special work ethic, relentless mindset
Lexington High School graduate Cade Stover, The Ohio State University alum and current Houston Texans player, gave the keynote presentation.
He focused on the Texans’ motto, SWARM: Special Work Ethic and Relentless Mindset.
“This is something that I feel like I’ve tried to live my life by basically as long as I can,” he said.
Stover pointed out that he watched his dad and grandpa live by that ethic. However, he was unable to put it into words until he went to Houston two years ago.
When Stover heard the acronym, “it’s something that clicked with me instantly.”
Stover grew up on a small cattle operation in Mansfield. The farm was not big enough to support the family, so Stover’s dad worked a full-time job running an excavating business in Columbus.
“I watched him get up, feed [at 4:30 a.m.] in the morning, drive an hour to Columbus, and then get home at 7, 7:30 at night,” Stover said.
“Watching him do that every single day has put a perspective in me that I think resonates back to this. That is he had the special work ethic and he had the relentless mindset to make this thing go.”
Stover said his life goal is to tell his dad they can just farm and not work off the farm anymore. He found the route to achieving his dream through sports, saying athletics is “a natural gift that God gave me.”
Stover recounted his path at Ohio State. After winning the Mr. Football award at Lexington, he was humbled as a redshirt freshman for the Buckeyes. He faced a loss of confidence by not playing until the Rose Bowl his junior year.
He switched to tight end his senior year, was selected a team captain and drafted by the NFL.
‘Just swarming’
Getting through that, he said, goes back to the relentless mindset of life. It also prepared him to go to Houston and “own who you are.”
Noting the number of players who have fancy cars or houses, Stover said he shows up every day in a white T-shirt and work boots.
“That was just something I always promised myself — to stay true to who you are no matter what, because that’s what got you to this point,” he said. “I feel like that right there is a dying breed of people like us from small communities that are blue-collar workers and really stand for what this country is built on.”
The SWARM motto held Stover in good stead when he broke his foot in the first game of his second year with the Texans. The injury took him out for eight weeks.
“I’m at the point right now again where things are stacked against me,” he said, adding that nobody wants to be unavailable because they’re physically unable to perform.
“The only thing you think about again is that farm, why you’re doing this. And even though that farm was obtained, now you’re playing for the sense of pride. And you’re still playing for that special work ethic that I watched my dad do every single day,” he said.
“For anybody out there, if you’re going through something, if you’re going through hardships in life, just keep your head down and just keep hammering because at some point, that rock’s going to break no matter what.”
cade stover, houston texans
“Like we say in Houston, just swarming. Every breakdown, every day, you’re just swarming,” he said.
“You’re swarming to be the best version of yourself, you’re swarming to be the best person you can be and the toughest person you can be. Because tough times truly do make really tough people.”
