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While the 2021 Salute to Business went virtual, the heart of the show remained the same as we celebrated the outstanding achievements of business leaders and organizations in St. Joseph County. Distinguished Business Leader of the Year Kevin Kelly is best known as the former president and CEO of Walsh & Kelly (now Milestone Contractors North), a family business specializing in heavy highway construction. What you may not be aware of is Kevin’s rise to the top. The two-time Indiana Contractor of the Year started his career in the asphalt emulsion industry, where he learned how materials affect performance and diligently worked to impact road performance. What Kevin promoted then is mainstream now—better quality aggregates, better mix design, polymer-modified, and other improved asphalt products. He and his wife were integral in the capital campaign to raise funds for the new Saint Joseph High School. |
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2021 Woman of Influence Karrah Herring was called at the end of 2020 to serve on Governor Eric Holcomb’s cabinet as Indiana’s first chief equity, inclusion and opportunity officer. She is tapped to work with Governor Holcomb and his team to address equity and inclusion within state agency workplaces and to remove barriers to access and equity with state services offered to the citizens in Indiana. Her laundry list of achievements and honors is long. Her journey has not been easy. She faced her own set of challenges—from navigating law school and career as a single mother to challenges with passing the bar exam. She tells women to use those challenges as teachable moments. |
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Outstanding Young Business Leader Jacque Stahl, vice president of marketing and communications at The South Bend Clinic, completed her Masters in Health Administration in 2018, so she could gain a better understanding of the health care industry to become a better marketer. Contributing to acceptance and rise in the community is this Washington native’s understanding of the importance of building networks, uplifting others and constantly learning. Jacque is the current chair of the YPN South Bend advisory council and was just selected to the 2021 Michiana Forty under 40 class. |
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Small Business of the Year PEGGS has become a destination for business meetings, press conferences, media interviews, and even wedding proposals. In the restaurant’s first 10-12 years, consistent sales with little growth were realized. By 2015, the restaurant saw considerable growth, and in 2019, owners and lifelong friends Peg Dalton and Kelli Coppola saw 84% growth since the restaurant opened its doors. Things were rolling along—2020 started out as their best year ever with February being their best month in the restaurant’s history. Then, the pandemic hit. PEGGS had to lay off one hundred percent of their employees (37 people). Their resiliency and ability to operate in the “new normal” motivates them to press on. With more and more restrictions being lifted, they are even looking at hiring more people. |
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Rounding out our award honorees this year is Bald Mountain, LLC, receiving the Economic Impact Award. At 201 S. Main Street is a five-story mixed-use office building co-developed by Bald Mountain, LLC, Great Lakes Capital and Norris Equity Partners marking downtown South Bend’s first Class A office project in 20 years. The group invested well in excess of $20 million on the project. The building is comprised of 35,531 square feet of office space and 6,537 square feet of street-level retail to the intersection of Main Street and Jefferson Boulevard. Anchoring the building is global law firm Barnes & Thornburg, which occupies three floors. That’s why most people refer to the project as the Barnes & Thornburg building. |
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