Dave Strickland Named 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year by Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce

Article Presented By Kingston National Bank…

At the Chamber’s Annual Awards Dinner on May 13th, Dave Strickland, owner of Dave Strickland-State Farm Insurance and co-owner of Chillicothe Monument/Hardy Memorials was named the 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year.

“Strickland has grown the State Farm business from about 1,200 households with 3,000 policies
in 2003 to 5,000 households and 16,000 policies today. After establishing Chillicothe
Monument with two co-owners in 2015, the business has seen exponential growth and
established itself as a solid community contributor with work to restore and clean monuments
at Soldier’s Circle in Greenlawn Cemetery,” says Mike Throne, President and CEO of the Chamber in a press release.

You can watch Strickland’s acceptance speech here or at the link below.

Other awards given were as follows:

The Young Professional of the Year award was given to Joshua Walter, the regional manager for Direct to Business Wholesale and an ambassador for the EPIC Young Professionals group.

The Corporate Citizenship Award was given to Rock for Tots and accepted by Paul Pollard, for contributing over $2 million to more than 35 agencies that assist families and children in need in the past 40 years.

The Legacy Award was given to Printex Same-Day Printing and accepted by Jeffrey
Marshall II. They are celebrating their 50th year in business this year and relocating soon to East Main Street. Marshall’s father won the Chamber’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2012 before he passed in 2016.

A Special Recognition award was given to Diane Carnes for community service and over 50 years in the real estate industry.