10/06/2026
BUCHANAN CELEBRATES COMMUNITY LEADERS AT ANNUAL MEETING-Dennis Mori, Michigan Gateway Community Foundation and Tracy Dippo honored for their service to the Buchanan area
BUCHANAN, MI — Business owners, community partners, and local leaders gathered Thursday, Oct. 1, at The Loading Dock in downtown Buchanan for the Buchanan Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Dinner sponsored by Core Bore, Prein&Newhof and United Way of Southwest Michigan. The evening opened with networking and a dinner catered by Wood, Stock & Grill, followed by the annual meeting and awards presentation.
More than 100 attendees looked back on a year of progress for the Chamber. Members elected a slate of new directors, and Chamber leaders outlined how their recent partnership with the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber will expand support for local businesses in the years ahead.
"This past year, our board spent a lot of time thinking about the next chapter for Buchanan and the role the chamber should play in writing it," said Patrick Swem, Board Chair of the Buchanan Area Chamber. "What we kept coming back to was a chamber that helps businesses grow, speaks up for them, and gets behind the projects that make this a better place to live and work. Partnering with the Regional Chamber gives us the experience and capacity to actually deliver on that vision."
"When you look at Southwest Michigan from a regional view, Buchanan stands out," said Arthur Havlicek, President & CEO of the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber. "Every storefront that opened, every building that got a second life, every business that chose to stay started with someone betting on this town. Our job now is to make that bet easier, and to build a local chamber that doesn't just cheer on momentum but helps create it."
The program concluded with three annual awards, presented by sponsor Zach East of United Way of Southwest Michigan.
Dennis Mori received the Dale E. Florey Volunteer of the Year, which honors an individual who demonstrated extraordinary service to the greater Buchanan community through volunteer efforts in 2025.
Raised on a farm at Clear Lake, Mori studied marketing at Ferris State University and built a 55-year career in visual merchandising. He worked for Macy's, J.C. Penney and Sharper Image, and later served as Senior Visual Merchandising Specialist for the Navy Exchange, outfitting more than 800 stores.
Since returning to Buchanan two years ago, Mori has volunteered with the Buchanan Business Boosters, Buchanan Scarecrow Charities, Buchanan Pride, Buckteens, the Buchanan Garden Club, the DDA Holiday Décor Committee and Pears Mill.
The Michigan Gateway Community Foundation was named Business/Organization of the Year, an award recognizing a business, organization or club that has made a meaningful contribution to community development and quality of life in the greater Buchanan area.
Founded in Buchanan in 1978, the Foundation serves communities throughout South Berrien and Cass counties. Through grants, scholarships, and partnerships, it supports education, youth development, arts and culture, parks, senior services, and neighborhood enrichment.
Its signature initiatives include the Buchanan Promise, Kickstart to Career, and the Buchanan Summer Concert Series. President and CEO Michael Rowland accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented posthumously to Tracy Dippo, who passed away in August. The award honors an individual who has devoted a lifetime of time and energy to the betterment of the community.
An artist with a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Notre Dame, Dippo taught pottery at Southwestern Michigan College and art at Saint Mary's Elementary School in Niles. In 2002, she and her husband, Dave, opened Redbud Hardware in Buchanan, known for its Michigan-made goods and her elaborately themed window displays.
Dippo served with the Downtown Development Authority, the Buchanan Preservation Society, Junior Achievement, and Live Buchanan. She created the McCoy Creek Trail mural, helped lead the 2026 Art on Days mural project, and later chaired the board of Fernwood Botanical Garden. Her daughter, Caitlin Dippo, accepted the award on her behalf.
The Chamber congratulates this year's honorees and thanks the sponsors and attendees who made the Annual Meeting a success. Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber
