Westville Area Chamber of Commerce 2026 Annual Dinner &Awards

Westville, IN – The Westville Area Chamber of Commerce just hosted their Annual Dinner at The Great Hall of Purdue University Northwest Westville Campus.

More than 80 guests enjoyed the evening of entertainment presented by Harpist Meg Rodgers and dined on great food created by the PNW culinary department while enjoying a unique and beautiful setting of the PNW campus.

Our guest speaker for the evening was our own president, Olga Pothorski. She talked about some of the Chamber accomplishments from 2025 and the exciting things that will be happening in 2026.Judy Jacobi, retired Assistant Vice Chancellor for Marketing, Special Programs and Art Collections for PNW spoke about the launch of Otocast, an app that allows self-guided tours of the Odyssey Art Tour on the PNW campus.The annual business meeting took place with the following people elected to serve on the Board of Directors: Olga Pothorski, Sophie Koss, Jane Daley, Carolyn Probosco, Lori Hunt and we welcomed two new members; Sandra Johnson-Lee and Abby Vogel.

Our organization recognizes an individual, group or organization that displays leadership qualities to make a positive impact on the Westville area community.

This year the Community Leader Award was presented to Abby Vogel owner of Giggles Boutique.

Abby is recognized for her extraordinary commitment to supporting vulnerable children and families throughout Westville and LaPorte County. Through her leadership at Giggles Boutique and Giggles Foster Closet, she manages a volunteer-driven organization that provides essential clothing, hygiene items, and supplies to children in foster care and families in crisis.

Rather than simply distributing donations, Abby has created a boutique-style environment that allows families to shop with dignity and respect. Her ability to mobilize volunteers and partners with local agencies has made Giggles Boutique a vital safety net for our community.

In addition to this recognition, the Westville Area Chamber of Commerce is donating $500 to help Giggles Boutique in their service to our community.

We are pleased to announce that the Westville DECA Chapter is the recipient of this year’s Education Recognition Award. The nomination was submitted by Toni Biancardi, the Westville DECA Chapter Advisor.

DECA is a Career and Technical Student Organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. This award recognizes two outstanding students, Myleigh Weaver and Breah Zaiko, who achieved 3rd place in their Business Research project and advanced to the International Career Development Conference held April 25–28, 2026. Myleigh and Breah have been Blackhawks since kindergarten and represent our school and community with excellence and perseverance.

In addition to this recognition, the Westville Area Chamber of Commerce has donated $1,000 to help defer conference expenses for the students and advisors.

There were some wonderful gifts donated by local businesses and organizations for our drawing and $400 was raised to donate to the Boys & Girls Club of La Porte County Westville Chapter.

This event could not have happened or been such a success if it were not for our sponsors:

Purdue University Northwest, Parkman Cattle Company, 1^st Source Bank, Town of Westville, Edward Jones, Visit Michigan City La Porte, New Durham Estates, and NIPSCO.

Westville Area Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to focusing on the improvement of the quality of life and quality of place within the community, enhancing our business atmosphere, supporting entrepreneurs, and connecting tomorrow’s leaders.

For more information contact: info@westvillechamber.org