The State of the City Dinner is held annually in the spring to honor the City of Martinsville and the many individuals, businesses, and organizations that contribute to the economic growth and development of our community. Along with Mayor Kenny Costin’s interview, the Outstanding Business, Outstanding Business Professional, and Ruth Rusie Spirit of Service awards were presented by Chamber board chair, Darcy Quakenbush. What an impressive trio, all three are very deserving of their respective awards!*
*All photos courtesy of Mike Washington, MWPImages; Videos by Helmsman Studios
Duke Energy – Outstanding Business
The Outstanding Business Award recognizes businesses in or around Martinsville for noteworthy accomplishments, long-standing contributions to the community, and significant community service efforts.
The Duke Energy Martinsville Operations Center was chosen as our 2023 Outstanding Business due to their
In response to last March’s EF2 tornado, Duke Energy responded in full force, alongside crews from neighboring communities in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. More than 300 line workers acted quickly to safely restore power and replace, repair, and rebuild portions of the electric system that were damaged. All told, crews replaced more than 70 utility poles, 70 crossarms, 9 transformers, and more than 100 spans of wire.
Supporting this work were 25 vegetation teams, 15 damage assessors, and 10 road-flagging resources. In addition, 13 Duke Energy administrative and leadership support individuals worked out of the Martinsville Operations Center to manage the teams, prioritize workflow and support emergency response efforts. From March 31 through April 3, the Duke Energy team worked more than 15,000 hours to restore 17,000 power outages.
Congratulations to Jean Renk and Brian Bantley, representing the Duke Energy team!
Rob Helms, Outstanding Business Professional
This award recognizes a businessman or woman who demonstrates outstanding achievement and excellence in his/her business or profession, as well as business, social, and community involvement.
Rob Helms, co-owner of RD Productions since its beginning in 2016, is responsible for putting Martinsville on the map for concerts and entertainment. Every year bigger and better acts are added to the schedule.
RD Productions handles all aspects of live music including producing and promoting national, regional, and local touring acts. They organize and take care of everything from booking the talent, and securing the venues, to setting ticket prices and marketing the show! They take great pride in bringing live music and events to venues all over the Midwest,
As Rob works his magic in the entertainment world, he is an amazing cheerleader and ambassador for our community. He is most deserving of this award.
Congratulations to Rob Helms, Outstanding Business Professional!
Dr. Tom Kapczynski, Recipient of Ruth Rusie Spirit of Service Award
This coveted award recognizes an individual for outstanding contributions by volunteering, giving, fundraising, mentoring, or caring in the community. The Ruth Rusie Spirit of Service award is named for Ruth Rusie of Martinsville, IN for her inspiring volunteer achievements and outstanding commitment to community service.
Thomas H. Kapczynski, D.D.S., known as 11Dr. Kap”, devoted his professional life to serving the dental needs of his patients in Ellettsville. Dentistry has always been more than a job to him. He treats each patient as an individual, and in his 40 years of practice saw the children, and grandchildren, of his original patients, who still sought his care. He “retired” in 2018 at age 74 and moved to Martinsville, but he still had the passion to use his skills and experience to help others.
Just 4 months into retirement, Dr. Kap recruited dental assistants and started seeing dental patients 1 or 2 days a week at the Thomas More Free clinic.
When the Thomas More Clinic closed in June 2022, Dr. Kap was offered space at Wellspring to set up a clinic to serve clients at Wellspring, the Magdelene House, and Desert Rose, along with those who are homeless.
After working long hours most of the summer and fall of 2022 planning the new clinic, and collecting, moving, and installing the dental equipment, Dr. Kap started seeing patients one day a week in November 2022. Thank you, Dr. Kap!
Pictured L → R: Darcy Quakenbush, Jeana Kapczynski, Karen Cox (retired Lily scientist who serves as Doc Kap’s dental assistant), Dr. Kap.
Congratulations to “Dr. Kap”! The Ruth Rusie Spirit of Service Award was well-deserved.
Congratulations to our 2024 award winners!
Watch Mayor Costin’s remarks and Q & A HERE. View photos of the 2024 State of the City HERE.