Dr. Tim Barry, left, ABU President and President of the Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, presented the Chamber’s 2019 Community Service Award to Ira McDaniel, center, flanked by his nominator, Optometrist Dr. Stanley Toompas.
The award is in the form of an inscribed Cooper desk clock. The recipient of the award was voted upon by the total Chamber membership.
The Community Service Award, normally presented during the Chamber’s Annual Banquet, is presented to any member or non-member, person or group, which has during the preceding year, made a positive impact on the quality of life in Barbour County.
“Ira McDaniel,” said his nominator, “ is a soft-spoken, hard-working family man, who has been involved in community service with the Philippi Lions Club and other organizations for well over forty years. His volunteer efforts,” he said, “include all the multiple Lions Club projects which are very beneficial to Barbour County, to West Virginia, and to the whole world. Ira is a quintessential all-American service club member with no regard for self-gain or notoriety.”
McDaniel is a lifelong resident of the Ford Run Community and worked 46 years in the coal mining industry. He has been a member of the Philippi Lions Club for 35 years, where he received Lionism’s highest honors, the Leonard Jones and founder Melvin Jones awards. He is a member of the Barbour County Bee-Keepers Association, the Tacy Community Association, and the Barbour County Farmer’s Bureau.
McDaniel said, “It is an honor for me to receive this award. Many memories have been made over the years along with many, many treasured friends. It is a joy for me to serve the community.”