Tom and Michelle Lehotay are the recipients of this year’s Willard R. Tipple Memorial Award.
The award is given to individualsthat demonstrate a steadfast dedication to the county’s Community Development Corporation and its core values.
It is named after a former Byesville Village Council member and a founding member of the CDC. Individuals nominated for the award have shown a desire to improve the quality of life for residents in Guernsey County through volunteering or donating to the CDC.
The Lehotays are lifelong residents of Cambridge and the fourth generation to own and operate the family business, Lehotay Trucking and Excavating.
The couple was surprised when CDC Executive Director Ron Gombeda announced their names at the CDC’s recent winter banquet.
“We were speechless,” Tom said.
“(Michelle) uses the trail a lot, but we just like what they (the CDC) is doing,” Tom said. “In general, we just like what they are doing with the city and that relationship.” The CDC helps with the upkeep of the seven-mile Great Guernsey Trail.
Michelle said she likes that the organization offers transportation to local veterans, noting her husband is a veteran of Desert Storm and her son is a veteran of Afghanistan.
The couple donated the use of dump trucks from their business for work on the parking area at the trail. They have also contributed to the repair of the broken half-pipe at the Trailside Skate Park, and many other CDC projects throughout the area.
“These two are the epitome of small-town success and giving back to their community. They do not hesitate to lend a hand, donate or support whatever project or purpose is asked of them,” Gombeda said. “Thanks to Tom and Michelle, Guernsey County is a better place, and we all owe them our sincere gratitude and appreciate for everything they do.”
Monica Boggs, a real estate agent and treasurer CDC Board, was the recipient of this year’s Dave Gombeda Memorial Award for CDC Board Member of the Year. She joined the board in 2016.
The award is named after Ron’s late father, who was a co-founder of the CDC and helped develop the Great Guernsey Trail. He also served as a county commissioner and was a Jackson Township trustee for more than 30 years.
The award is presented to the board member who goes above and beyond in showing the work of the CDC.
According to Gombeda, Boggs has provided the CDC with her time, energy and dedication and helps to promote the CDC.
“She is a very valuable and dedicated board member. She participates in our meetings like clockwork. She’s reliable. She always helps out,” Gombeda said of Boggs. “She really helps create public awareness about the CDC. She helps build our brand.”
The winter banquet is the largest annual fundraiser for the CDC. During the event, Gombeda highlighted some of the CDC’s accomplishments over the last year.
According to Gombeda, the CDC now has 30 rental units, up from 26 last year. The CDC works in conjunction with the land bank to acquire rundown or abandoned structures which they renovate and rent.
The organization finished the remodel of the Batters-Up space and the Ramage building. They remodeled and sold a dilapidated house in Byesville and started the remodel of a rental house on South Seventh Street in Cambridge. They completed the resurfacing of the first mile of the Great Guernsey Trail, as well as landscaping. Additionally, they added owl nesting boxes, a sensory trail, three little libraries and Earth Science Stations on the trail. They also opened a concession stand at the trail.
They continue to maintain the flags along Wheeling Avenue, replaced the roof on the rental building in Byesville that houses Prime Nutrition and have nearly completed the construction of the Bobcat Disc Golf Course on the Telling property.
Also in 2021, the CDC received a contract extension grant of $200K to operate a year-round youth workforce development program.
The agency raised $63,295 in corporate and individual donations in 2021. This is an increase of approximately $7,000 over the previous year.
A comprehensive list of projects can be viewed on the CDC’s website at guernseycountycdc.com.
