SYRACUSE — Chautauqua Wawasee presented two community awards at its second annual Celebrate Chautauqua banquet Monday, Oct. 1, at Oakwood Park. Ann Strong won the Howard and Myra Brembeck Individual Award, given to an individual who exemplifies passion and support of the Chautauqua-Wawasee mission and vision for the Syracuse-Wawasee area. The Parent Family Foundation captured …read more.

SYRACUSE — Early morning rain didn’t deter many of the artists who are participating in the Oakwood Fine Arts Festival, taking place today, Saturday, Aug. 25. The festival goes on until 3 p.m. Tammy Cotton, executive director of Chautauqua-Wawasee, said 24 artists were expected with 22 showing up. “The goal is to have about 30 …read more.

On Tuesday, Nov. 28, North Webster Church of God gave Rose Home four major appliances, several pieces of living room furniture and a check generous enough to make Rose Home board members cry. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” said Beth Morgan, executive director of Rose Home. “I still can’t believe we received …read more.

SYRACUSE — In a shady area between the Oakwood Inn and the Oakwood Event Center are three polished granite benches honoring Cole Brembeck, Howard Brembeck and Pastor Ken Robinson. The benches were installed last September after a committee made up of Tom Prickett, Tammy Cotton, Ryan Mishler, John Stout and Ruth Miller was formed in …read more.

Tammy Cotton learned early on “the importance of community involvement and volunteering.” She grew up in Kendallville, where her mother was involved in the community and her grandmother, “a strong Democrat and always involved in the Democratic party,” served as the Noble County clerk. “I remember as a kid, especially on election day, hanging out …read more.

Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce announced the appointment of Andrea Reed as its new executive director. Reed will assume her responsibilities beginning the week of April 4, following a short transition period working with Tammy Cotton, who has stepped down to pursue other community-based projects.

SYRACUSE — Longtime Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tammy Cotton resigned from her position Friday, March 11. Cotton stated, “I will always have a passion for the chamber and community, but I also have other passions and I’m choosing to focus on those.”

SYRACUSE — While bison were largely gone from Indiana by the time it entered statehood in 1816, the state still plans to include the animal predominately featured on its seal in the bicentennial celebration. It is doing so with fiberglass bison statues, which communities will then paint.

SYRACUSE — Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards banquet returned to Oakwood Resort Tuesday, Jan. 26, where it honored many local businesses and individuals within the Wawasee area. And this year the chamber utilized a different approach for doing so: opening nominations to its members.

SYRACUSE — Sleigh bells may still be off in the distance for some, but the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce has already secured a sleigh in preparation for Holiday Magic, occurring Nov. 21. During its regular board meeting Wednesday, Oct. 7, late-fall and winter events were the main focus.

Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce and guests reviewed many plans at the Wednesday, Sept. 2, meeting in the chamber office in uptown Syracuse. President Chad Jonsson presided during the meeting full of information.

From a previously donated refrigerator that won’t fit through the door to wrapping up its open house, the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce board addressed several moving-related topics at its regular meeting Wednesday, Aug. 5.

The Tour des Lakes is a leisurely bike ride through gently rolling hills and scenery around the beautiful lakes in Kosciusko County. Find out more about this year’s event with this IFN feature video interview.

Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce is in the midst of moving into its new street-level office on East Main Street. Executive Director Tammy Cotton said they hope to be completely moved by July 14. An open house for the new location is then scheduled to occur from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 29. With …read more.

During its May 6 meeting, board members approved a new one-year lease, allowing the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce to remain in its current Main Street location. The building, which formerly housed Leisure Pools, was recently purchased by KSK Real Estate LLC. It was noted during the meeting KSK Real Estate would be renovating much of …read more.

About 130 people turned out for tonight’s Mommy Son Dance at the Syracuse Community Center. The dance was held as a benefit for Rose Home North of Syracuse. Tammy Cotton, president of the Rose Home, said the turnout was “awesome” for the first year. “I am very excited. We are happy to offer the opportunity,” …read more.

Events were the focus of the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce’s board meeting April 1. The 27th annual Syracuse Cruise-In will occur May 15. Chamber Executive Director Tammy Cotton stated food vendors will once again be set up in the upper parking along Main Street and both the chamber office and Grace Lutheran Church will have …read more.

Progress on having Syracuse join Indiana’s Stellar Communities continues with Tammy Cotton, chamber executive director, stating at the March 4 Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce board meeting Town Manager Henry DeJulia is onboard. Cotton said the process of achieving the designation will be long, with Syracuse having 18 months before it can even apply. One element …read more.

  The year 2014 proved to be a record-breaking one for the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce outgoing President Richard Owen shared at the chamber’s annual awards banquet Tuesday evening. “The chamber’s membership record was broken,” Owen said. “We crossed 200 members.” Those 200-some members were the focus of the banquet as the chamber honored several …read more.

While the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce board did not have a quorum, they members did discuss the need for chamber goals in 2015 during its regular meeting Jan. 7. Chad Jonsson, who is set to take over as chamber president from Richard Owen, stated for 2015 he would like to have clear goals for the …read more.

Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce board members approved upgrading the chamber’s ChamberMaster membership during their regular meeting Dec. 3. With this upgrade, the chamber will be tweaking its website to fully integrate ChamberMaster. These changes will take advantage of several benefits provided through the software, such as doing billing through ChamberMaster, being able to formulate different …read more.

Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce met Nov. 5 at Wawasee High School. At the school, board members ate lunch and were given a tour of the school, including its radio and TV studios. The high school radio station, WRWT Warrior Radio, is currently available online, but will be live on FM next month. The tour occurred …read more.

Suicide is a topic some simply do not want to talk about, but considering a Wawasee High School student committed suicide just a couple of years ago and others attempted it, the topic does hit close to home. During Tuesday’s regular monthly Wawasee school board meeting in Syracuse, the board heard a presentation from Mary …read more.

It’s that time of year again at the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce with its membership drive kicking off immediately. And with it comes revisions to the membership levels, which open up new membership opportunities. During its monthly meeting Oct. 1, board members approved a new level of membership that will be tacked onto the new …read more.

To entice more area nonprofits to join the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce, a new nonprofit membership tier will be launched. Under this new tier nonprofits will be able to join the chamber for $85 a year or join at a higher level of membership for additional benefits. Board members approved the new tier at their …read more.

Strategic planning for 2015 was on the minds of the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce at its monthly meeting Wednesday, Aug. 6, at the chamber office. Several ideas were presented by executive director Tammy Cotton. Suggestions for items to be in the works included revising the mission statement, checking if any by-law changes are necessary, taking …read more.

Despite inclement weather, Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce’s annual golf outing, which occurred June 18, brought in approximately $1,000 more than last year’s event. The event also saw an increase in teams with a total of 32. During the Wednesday, July 2, board meeting, board member Tom Tuttle expressed gratitude toward all members of the golf …read more.

Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce is drawing closer to its annual golf outing, June 18, at Maxwelton Golf Club. This year’s event will include two tee times at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., with Chamber Executive Director Tammy Cotton set to gather golf teams preferred tee times soon. Golf outing task force chair Larry Biller stated …read more.

Membership was actively discussed during the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce board meeting, April 2, between finding ways to provide the best support for area chamber businesses and the welcoming of five new chamber businesses. Executive director Tammy Cotton shared the results of a survey distributed to chamber members; the survey is intended to help board …read more.

The year 2014 is off to a good start for the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce with five new members being accepted during its Feb. 12 meeting. New members included Y & S Designs LLC, Syracuse; Westmain Tavern, Syracuse; Pizza Hut, Syracuse; K21 Foundation, Warsaw; and Big Brothers Big Sisters, Warsaw. Renewals are continuing to come …read more.

Events and committees topped the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce board meeting today as members continued to lessen the burden on Executive Director Tammy Cotton. Cotton read over a list of her involvements before asking board members to take part in committees for certain events and functions of the chamber. One committee formed was for the …read more.

Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce will be considering its role in several currently chamber-organized events, particularly Syracuse SummerFest. Event task force chair Chad Jonsson approached the subject with his written report on SummerFest, which was submitted earlier since he is on vacation. In the report, he questioned the amount of work placed on chamber executive director …read more.

It’s been a month and a half since Buckingham Co. pulled out of purchasing the Oakwood property. At the time, there was concern about what would happen next. Ian Rolland, receiver for Oakwood, however, went back to work to find a new buyer. Dr. J. Rex Parent and his sons, J.R. and Jason, have stepped …read more.