The Everest Award, the West Chester ▪ Liberty Chamber Alliance’s second annual event honoring business leaders on the “I-75 Growth Corridor” will take place the evening of July 18 at the Cincinnati Marriott North in West Chester.
“The ‘I-75 Growth Corridor’ covers I-275 to I-675 and is the epicenter of regional growth between Dayton and Cincinnati,” said Joe Hinson, president of the West Chester ▪ Liberty Chamber Alliance. “The Everest Award spotlights this ‘growth corridor’ and pays homage to the leaders and legends that are shaping it.”
Honorees for the 2013 Everest Award include Stephen Hightower (president of Hightowers Petroleum), Robert Murphy (president of the Dayton Dragons) and John Planes (chief executive officer of Planes Companies).
The keynote speaker is Ruben Gonzalez, an Argentine luger who has competed in four different Winter Olympic Games in four different decades. Curtis Fuller of Channel 5, WLWT, is the emcee.
Tickets to the event, which begins at 6 p.m., are available for $125 and a table sponsor (8 seats) is available for $1,500. Sponsorships are also available by calling the West Chester ▪ Liberty Chamber Alliance at 513-777-3600 or by visiting www.TheChamberAlliance.com.
The event’s release provided bio’s of each of this year’s honorees.
Hightower: In 1984 Steve Hightower started Hightowers Petroleum Co. (HPC) as a licensed Motor Fuel Dealer. With foresight and continuing innovation, HPC developed a “Virtual Market Place” throughout the United States with the ability to provide gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, lubricants, oils and greases nationally. Steve Hightower has received two presidential appointments to the National Parks Foundation and The National Petroleum Council. Additionally, the company actively gives back to the Ohio Community as Founders of the Southwest Ohio Cares Mentoring Circle, an organization dedicated to recruiting and placing mentors. HPC’s customer base includes Ford Motor Company, Duke Energy, General Motors Corporation, Austin Railroad, Waste Management, The Kroger Company, UPS, AK Steel Corporation, Ryder Corporation, Grand Victoria Casino & Resort, Progress Energy, Raven Transport, The State of Ohio, Greater Dayton RTA, Honda/TRC and many others.
Murphy: Since becoming President of the Dayton Dragons in 1999, Bob Murphy has helped grow the organization into one of the premier franchises in Minor League Baseball. Under Bob Murphy’s guidance, the Dragons have set unprecedented records, most notably breaking the all-time consecutive sellout record in 2011 and being the first minor league team from any sport to be named a finalist for the SportsBusiness Journal Professional Sports Team of the Year Award in 2012. The Dayton Dragons have garnered numerous awards with Murphy at the helm, including the Minor League Baseball John H. Johnson President’s Award in 2012, MiLB’s most prestigious honor.
Planes: John Planes is a third-generation owner of Planes Companies. During his first years at Planes, John did everything from working in the warehouse as a teenager to driving a truck. In the late 1970’s, he became the youngest person to serve on the Board of Directors for Global Van Lines at age 31. John became Planes President in 1988 and in 2003 he took over as CEO. Under his leadership, Planes Moving and Storage has been honored with seven Customer Choice awards and numerous recognitions for its outstanding quality service. In 2011, John Planes received the United Excellence/Gene Anderson award, which recognizes individuals who have shown particular dedication to the principles of quality and integrity in the United Van Lines system.
