The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Honors to be given at Jan. 31 event
Eastern Lake County Chamber of Commerce will pay tribute to 2020 Business of Year and Beacon award winners
Joseph Kallay Jr. said his family and his faith are two of the major factors that have inspired him to become an active volunteer for a variety of local charitable causes.
Kallay’s strong commitment to volunteer service also led to him being chosen as the winner of the 2020 Beacon Award presented by the Eastern Lake County Chamber of Commerce.
Along with bestowing the Beacon honor upon Kallay, the chamber’s Selection Committee named Lantern of Madison as its 2020 Business of the Year.
Both winners will be recognized at the chamber’s 2020 Awards Luncheon slated for 11:30 a.m., Jan. 31, at the Painesville Township Park Community Center.
The chamber’s Beacon Award goes to a person, organization, business or industry that has exhibited extraordinary commitment and achieved positive results within Eastern Lake County communities.
Specific award criteria calls for evidence of the recipient making a positive impact on the community through their actions; demonstrating devotion to a cause for the benefit of the community; and providing leadership, participation and support to the cause.
Kallay’s background of community service in eastern Lake County encompasses his long career as a firefighter, along with his willingness to volunteer for different charitable programs and organizations.
He served as a firefighter for 33 years, starting out by working eight years at the Painesville Township Fire Department and then 25 years with the Perry Joint Fire District. He retired from the Fire District in 2014.
As a Perry firefighter, he played a part in starting the district’s annual pancake breakfasts, which raise funds for special projects. Kallay also is a member of the Firefighter Phillip J. Garofalo Memorial Scholarship Committee. The scholarship is named after a Perry firefighter who died of cancer in 1994.
Kallay, a Painesville Township resident, also volunteers with the Karpos Ministry at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Painesville. That ministry serves meals twice a week throughout the year for the homeless and less fortunate residents in Painesville
An hour or so before the start of the Jan. 15 Karpos meal, Kallay was carving turkeys in the kitchen at the Father Hanzo Family Center at St. Mary’s as the ministry prepared a Thanksgiving-style dinner. He recalled how his mother played a role in influencing his desire to help with foodrelated ministries.
“My mother’s 96 and still doing quite well,” he said. “She cooks almost every day. She is proud of what she has taught me and what I am doing to keep this cooking tradition alive.”
Kallay, an electrician who owns a business called Perfection Electric, also is a member of Knights of Columbus Painesville Council 947, a Catholic fraternal organization.
In addition, he volunteers with the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation.
“We show our appreciation to Purple Heart recipients all wounded in combat through world-class sporting events like hunting and fishing, and we’re about to undertake our 10th year out in Ashtabula with our Walleye Weekend,” he said. “When you walk away after an event like that and you see how you’ve touched the heroes with your input, it goes a long way.”
Although Kallay said he doesn’t volunteer to attract attention or gain recognition, he’s honored to receive the Beacon Award.
“It’s humbling — very humbling,” he said.
As for the Business of the Year honor, this annual chamber award is presented to an eastern Lake
County business in recognition of its significant contributions to the community while operating a successful business and promoting business development in eastern Lake County.
Also, the business principal or enterprise must have demonstrated community involvement and/or made civic contributions. The size of a business is not a factor in determining the award winner, the chamber stated in a news release.
Based at 2041 Hubbard Road in Madison Township, Lantern of Madison is “committed to provide a desired place that will physically, mentally and emotionally satisfy seniors,” the chamber’s news release stated.
Lantern of Madison’s innovative state-of-the-art “Fountain of Life — Brainpower” for Assisted Living and “Fountain of Life — Svayus” Memory Care programs are designed to provide a dignified lifestyle to its senior residents.
In addition, Lantern of Madison strives to give back to the community by sponsoring local youth sports teams, donating to local schools and nonprofits, and participating in the Lake County United Way Day of Caring.
Jean Makesh, CEO of The Lantern Group — which also owns assisted living centers in South Russell Village and Saybrook Township — serves on the Board of Directors at Lake Erie College.
He has encouraged and supported Lantern employees to be involved with Lake County charitable causes and nonprofit organizations.
“I strongly believe that we exist in this world only to influence and impact the larger good,” Makesh said. “Our daily operation, practices and culture are designed to influence change in the community that we serve, our country and the world in general. We believe that living a quality life is every human’s birthright.”
Makesh said it was “truly a pleasant surprise” when he learned that Lantern of Madison earned the chamber’s 2020 Business of the Year Award.
“We are excited and blessed that Lantern of Madison was chosen,” he said. “Our daily mission is to ensure that our elderly realize the best times of their life and live the way they desire and prefer. Our operation is all about our elderly clients.”