FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Citizens of the Year are Lori Schaefer-Weaton and Dr. Marty Gleason.

The two award recipients were announced during Thursday night’s awards banquet at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. Last year’s Citizens of the Year, Kathy Tollenaere and Ron Haines, read prepared speeches that included details about this year’s recipients until finally revealing their names at the end.

Tollenaere introduced Schaefer-Weaton, and began by talking about all of the groups she has been involved with and the numerous fundraising efforts she has participated in, such as her work with middle school students, the African Violet Foundation, the Park and Rec Carnival and Elevate Advanced Manufacturing.

Schaefer-Weaton said that she became certain that the person Tollenaere was describing was her when Tollenaere mentioned that the award recipient had grown up in Fairfield, and had attended Valparaiso University in Indiana.

Schaefer-Weaton is the president of Agri-Industrial Plastics in Fairfield, a plastic blow-molding company that specializes in making fuel tanks for non-automotive machines. She has been recognized for her role in promoting advanced manufacturing at both the state and national level. In 2021, Schaefer-Weaton was among 130 women who received a STEP Ahead Award from The Manufacturing Institute, partner of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Tollenaere said that the nominating letters for this year’s recipient described her as “kind, generous and with strong family ties.” She said the recipient not only volunteers her own time, but encourages her employees to do the same.

Schaefer-Weaton said that winning this award was surreal, and that she was glad to receive it in the presence of her parents, Dick and Judy Smith. Her father started Agri-Industrial Plastics in 1978, and now she leads the company.

“Continuing our business is the thing I’m most proud of,” Schaefer-Weaton said. “The team of people we have at Agri is pretty impressive, people like Amy Jones and Jeff Ward, they enable me to pursue my passion and know the company is in good hands.”

Schaefer-Weaton and her husband Nate Weaton are big promoters of Future Business Leaders of America, and in 2018, Schaefer-Weaton was named Fairfield FBLA Business Person of the Year.

“With Nate being head football coach, whenever we get a call from a teacher or an administrator at the school, we’re quick to respond in a positive way,” Schaefer-Weaton said. “All five kids have gone through FBLA, and we’ve sponsored people for their conferences.”

Schaefer-Weaton said Agri-Industrial Plastics has supported the African Violet Foundation for the past 10 years, and that it has become “our charity of choice.”

“At Christmastime, instead of getting gifts, we raise money for African Violet,” she said. “It’s become part of what we do at Agri.”

When Ron Haines was reading the list of accolades of the other Citizen of the Year, Gleason suspected early in his remarks that he was the person Haines was describing. Haines mentioned that the recipient had served as president of the Education Foundation for three years and that he had been a member of the Fairfield school board. When Haines said that the recipient was known for donating mouth guards to area athletes, Gleason said that was the moment he knew that he was the recipient.

Gleason retired from his dental practice at the Fairfield Dental Clinic in December after almost 40 years of cleaning teeth. During that time, he made athletic mouthguards at no charge for students in Fairfield, Pekin, Van Buren and Cardinal school districts. These mouthguards were custom-made for each athlete, and were made in their school colors.

“They’re highly recommended not just in football but also in basketball, wrestling and even soccer,” Gleason said.

Gleason also supported local athletes through his work at track meets, where he was a timer. With the advent of cameras paired with electronic timers, human timers are no longer necessary, though they are used as a backup in case the camera fails.

Gleason said one of the things he is proud of is having served on the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, where he was returning a favor he owed to former chamber director Charlie Barnett. Barnett was the first person he met in Fairfield, and Barnett introduced him to a couple of dentists in Fairfield, Stephen Van Tasell and L.B. Carter, who worked in the same building but had different separate practices. After meeting with Gleason, Van Tasell and Carter worked out a plan whereby they would combine their businesses so that Carter could retire, and Gleason could inherit his customers in the new joint practice.

During Thursday’s award ceremony, Gleason told the crowd that he and his wife, Julie, were so glad they made that decision to move to Fairfield 40 years ago.

“Thankfully, this has been a great place to raise a family, and we couldn’t be happier,” Gleason said.

Gleason said he is proud of his work as the dental liaison for Jefferson County Health Center, including many years working with Joneane Parker. He’s proud of having served on the Jefferson County Foundation Board, too.

Perhaps the highlight of the night for Gleason was being joined on stage by his five grandchildren: Gavin, Grant, and Grayson, who belong to son Scott and his wife Heather Buch; and Owen and Everly, who belong to daughter Emily and her husband Lucas Helling.