TSEP's Downtown Tiffin gives five awards

Five awards were presented to community businesses and individuals during the 2022 Main Street Celebration and Downtown Summit Thursday. The event at The Chandelier Community Event Center was hosted by Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership and celebrated the program's successes in 2021 and 2022. • Longtime volunteer and business person Mike Pinkston was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which is not given annually. "My life isn't over so there's more to do," Pinkston said as he received the award. • Reino's Pizza & Pasta received the Business Legacy Award. John Reino, and his son John, are operators of the third-generation Italian restaurant at 73 E Market St., which was started by Frankie Reino in 1950. • Ryan Poignon received the Anne Gase Achievement Award for his work. As he received the award, he said "God gave all of us a gift and it's up to us to share it." • The Downtown Development Award went to 92 S. Washington St., a five-year project by Killian Family Properties, owned by Kit Tiell and Skylar Mettert, to renovate the building and storefront. The building is occupied by The Social Cigar. • Danielle Park and her business, Yours With Every Stitch, was presented with the Entrepreneurial Award. As she received it, she said she was appreciative of Tiffin because not many communities would be so supportive of a 19-year-old. Also Thursday, Director of Downtown Revitalization Amy Reinhart reviewed the program's accomplishments and announced that Downtown Tiffin will be receiving four Heritage Ohio Main Street awards at the annual Heritage Ohio State Preservation and Revitalization Conference Oct. 3-5 in Toledo. During his keynote speech, Matt Wiederhold, executive director of Heritage Ohio, talked about the importance of downtown revitalization and preservation of historic buildings in Tiffin such as The Ritz Theater and the Shawhan Hotel, now an assisted living center, and the $3.2 million of improvements accomplished through the city's public-private Façade Enhancement Program. Wiederhold said a facade programs for downtown buildings is rare, and is a good example of how the city of Tiffin works with other agencies for the good of the city. The façade program is a reimbursement grant started in 2014 that a 50% match of funds for eligible exterior improvements on residential and commercial structures within the downtown historic district, up to $10,000. Wiederhold said Tiffin is one of 23 Main Street communities through Heritage Ohio, and representatives of other Ohio towns are visiting Tiffin to find out why it's so successful. "Tiffin is a huge asset to other towns," he said. He said Reinhart is a great resource for Tiffin, and she works with other cities as well.