Wallace received Leadership award from Bartow Chamber of Commerce

BARTOW — The Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce presented its top community service award to one of the original members of the Leadership Steering Committee, and not to one of the program's graduates.

Howe Q. Wallace received the George W. Harris Jr. Leadership award during Saturday night's annual banquet at the Bartow Civic Center. Wallace could not attend the meeting because of a prior family commitment, but a video of him thanking the chamber for the award was played.

Until 2014, leadership award recipients were selected only from graduates of the chamber's Leadership Bartow program. But that year, the founders of the original 1984 Leadership Steering Committee were presented with honorary diplomas and were made eligible for the award.

When Wallace was chosen this year, he became the second of the program's founders to be selected. Last year, Don Wilson, of the law firm Boswell & Dunlap, received the award.

Wallace was cited for his leadership in faith, family, career and community, by Wilson, who announced the award.

Wallace has kicked off each class of the Leadership Bartow program, working with the members in leadership training and team building, he said.

Wallace has been chief executive officer and chairman of PalletOne, the largest new pallet manufacturer in the United States, with facilities in nine states, and Sunbelt Forest Products, which has two locations in Florida and two in Alabama, since 2001.

He has a reputation as leader and been invited to speak to groups ranging from fourth-graders to MBA students at Southern Methodist University, leaders in agriculture and professional baseball players, including the Detroit Tigers, Wilson said.

He serves on the board of directors for the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association, and is a member of Leadership Florida. He serves on the Alpha Tau Omega National Board, and is a lifelong member of its chapter at the University of Florida.

He is an elder at the First Presbyterian Church and a founding member and frequent leader of the Thursday Morning Men’s Bible Study, which is a multi-denominational group including members from many of Bartow’s local churches. He chairs Bartow’s Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, where he has served for decades.

The award was originally called the Leadership Bartow Award, but was renamed for the late George Harris, who was instrumental in implementing the Leadership Bartow program and was involved with the program for 20 years, said Clint Edwards, the chamber's president for 2017.

Also at the annual meeting, a new president and members of the board of directors were named.

Edwards, whose family owned the Tom Edwards Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealership before it sold last year, becoming the Thunder dealership, received the gavel from 2016 President Jennifer Hall of Semco.

The board members are Richard Dreyer, an associate principal with Tindale Oliver; Chandra Frederick, director of Polk County’s Building Division; and Orathai Northern, district dean of academic programs for Polk State College.