Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Piper VanOrd receives a standing ovation Thursday for her recognition with the Community Service Award from the Warren County Chamber of Business & Industry.

“We’re a special town and we should feel good about that.”

Piper VanOrd was recognized Thursday night with the Warren County Chamber of Business & Industry’s Community Service Award.

And how she found out about receiving the award gets at the heart of why it was presented in the first place.

That’s because VanOrd was in eastern Europe as part of humanitarian efforts stemming from the Russia invasion of Ukraine. She was getting ready to learn how to cook Ukrainian perogies.

“Really, the person I need to thank the most is my mom,” she said. “Truly anything that is good in me came from my mom.”

VanOrd walked the Gala crowd through how she came to where she is now.

Born in Warren, her family moved to Virginia Beach in first grade and returned to Warren when she was in eighth grade. The Eisenhower grad “left the morning after” graduation and “moved as far away as I possibly could” – Anchorage, Alaska – “vowing never to come back to Warren County again.

After service as a Navy air traffic controller, she said she moved back to Alaska but stopped in Warren for two weeks on the trip there after her discharge.

“Those two weeks were life-changing,” she said. “It hit me almost ‘when did they install this national forest? (It) definitely wasn’t here 10 years ago.’ I fell in love with this town.

“Warren as a whole is a really special place. I can’t quite wrap my finger around what it is.”

She did move back to Alaska, though, with the goal of working as an air traffic controller. A hiring freeze resulted in her looking for other opportunities. That included a Times Observer ad for a business opportunity – Allegheny Outfitters.

“And so the journey began,” she said. “It roped me in. Nature has this way of opening our eyes to other things while we’re out there – how we can help, how we can give back.

“That’s how river cleanup was born,” she said. “It’s an effort that we’re all a part of, a special community.”

But the journey isn’t without its challenges.

“It’s hard to be a small business in rural Pennsylvania,” she said. “We’re all curating these spaces…. Everything that we do is because of you (the community). We want you there with us.

She took the time to highlight both the community and the work she has been involved in in Ukraine. “We all work really hard and when we work together it just multiplies,” she said. “We’re a special town and we should feel good about that. We should feel good about where we live.

“Certainly, without the community there’s no reason for me to be up here,” she added. “So I say congratulations to all of you. Thank you to all of you.”

“I certainly can’t stand up here without talking about Ukraine,” she said. “It’s not just me. There are other volunteers that are here, as well. Our community has come out of the woodwork to help with this.

“You embody,” WCCBI President/CEO Jim Decker said, “and you represent us well.”