Newark High School senior Mikayla Miller was the 2025 recipient of the Outstanding Youth Award given by the Greater Newark Chamber of Commerce March 25th at Rose Bowl Lanes.
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The awards are given annually by the Chamber to high school or college students who generously devote their time and effort to religious, charitable and/or community organizations and events that have made an improvement in Newark’s quality of life.
Rebecca Yuhas, Living Environment teacher at NHS and Lindsay Walters, Regents and AP Chemistry teacher are Student Council co-advisors. They nominated Miller for the award. Before she received it March 25th, Yuhas spoke about why they nominated her.
“Mikalya is a senior at Newark High School and the High School student body president for the 2024-2025 school year, prior to this, she served as class president during her freshman and sophomore years and was vice president of student council during her junior year. During her time in student council, she has continually worked to build new and exciting opportunities for our student body and increase student involvement. She has piloted programs to get more students involved than ever and has created a lasting impact on Newark High School that students will benefit from for years to come. Next year Mikalya will be going to Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania on a full merit scholarship to major in psychology and business. We are so proud of all Mikalya has accomplished during her time at Newark High School!”
“It is such an honor to be recognized by the Chamber of Commerce. I am deeply grateful to have received this award and to have been able to experience Student Council with such amazing advisors,” Miller said after the event.
“Mikalya has always been invested in the school serving in student government in some capacity. She has contributed great ideas and always volunteers her time. I am so happy to see that she received this award, and I am looking forward to all the wonderful things she will do in the future,” said NHS Principal Kelly A. Zielke.
Miller has been involved in numerous vocal, instrumental performing arts and sports activities during high school, and before, including:
• NHS Student Council for 4 years, including while she was Class President during her freshmen and sophomore years, Student Body Vice President and Student Body President this year.
• National Honor Society member for 2 years and has been a member of and competed in MasterMinds for 7 years.
• Being involved in several vocal, instrumental and performing activities including Drama Club for 4 years and is president this year; Film Club for 2 years; has been a member of Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, FUSION and, Chamber Choir for 4 years; the RPO Festival High School Chorale for 1 year, Vocal Jazz for 3 years, and Choir Council for 2 years.
• Being active in NHS sports including Girls Volleyball and Indoor Girls Track & Field for 6 years and Outdoor Girls Track & Field for 4 years.
Additionally, Miller has been a Girl Scout for 11 years and is working toward her Gold Award. She works with her mother at Tracy L. Larson Psy.D. in Newark and began working last year with the Wayne County Board of Elections as an election inspector and at Rotary Camp Onseyawa as a camp counselor.
Three other awards were presented at the event:
The Ron Colacino Community Spirit Award was given to the “Home for the Holidays” Committee.
Chamber President Tom Meyer read this before presenting the award:
“It is my honor to celebrate a group that embodies the true meaning of community spirit,” he said. “When I was thinking of nominations for this year’s awards, I did not hesitate in thinking of the Home for the
Holidays Committee as in my mind the clear-cut winner for an organization that embodied Community Spirit the most this year.
“The impact they made and the amount of joy they brought to the community speaks for itself. Home for the Holidays truly transformed our village this holiday season. The pride, joy and Christmas spirit that people in the community felt this year was unlike any other. I know this group did not do this for the accolades. They did it because they believe in our village, they believe in our community, and they wanted to work together to make it a better place.
“And that is why they were not just the nominees but also the winners of this year’s Ron Colacino Community Spirit Award. Congratulations to you all and thank you for your impact on our community!”
The Alex Eligh Community Service Citizen of the Year award was given to Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor.
Nominated by Katie Pullen, Pullen’s sister-in-law Jo-Tina Crockett, who is the office manager at Pullen’s Newark Allstate Agency and is her sister-in-law and fellow committee member for both Taste of Wayne County and Home for the Holidays—read what was written.
“This afternoon, I have the honor of presenting an award to someone many of us know by title—but who I nominated for this recognition because of everything he does beyond that title. Many people in our community know Jonathan Taylor as mayor—a role that comes with visibility and responsibility. But when I think of Jonathan, I don’t just think of a mayor. I think of a community member who consistently shows up—not for credit, but because he genuinely cares.
“Jonathan is a neighbor, a coach, a mentor, and a hands-on leader. He’s not just at his own children’s events—he’s at games and gatherings across town. He coaches youth sports, leads 4-H, referees middle school basketball games, and finds joy in lifting others up. At village board meetings, he makes it a point to recognize students—not only for big accomplishments, but for hard work, growth, and commitment.
“He’s also someone who understands the value of community connection. He plays an active role in events like Home for the Holidays and Taste of Wayne County—not just attending, but helping organize, promote, and make them meaningful. He’s contributed to the future of Newark through his work with the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, while always keeping people at the heart of every effort.
“I nominated Jonathan because I’ve seen firsthand how much he gives—how often he says yes, how much thought he puts into making Newark a better place, and how deeply he cares about those who call it home. Being mayor might be his title, but being someone who truly invests in Newark, that’s who Jonathan Taylor is. And when the time comes to look back, it won’t be the title that defines him—it will be the impact he made along the way. Congratulations, Jonathan—our 2025 Citizen of the Year.”
The Business of the Year Award was given to Lagana Plumbing and Heating.
Kaitlyn Ruffalo nominated the business for the award and read this at the event.
“When I first saw that the chamber was accepting nominations for this award, there was only one question in my mind of who it should be. Ruffalo Appliance or Lagana Plumbing and Heating. Although I find both to be incredibly deserving as they are run by the same ownership and there is quite a bit of overlap among the teams. Now, I know what many of you were thinking, of course she would say that she’s family, and maybe you’re a little bit right, but being family with these wonderful people has given me front row access to their true heart and intentions for why they do what they do within the community. I have seen firsthand all the hard work and thought that goes into everything that they do that the public do not get to see. I hear the conversations that happened behind closed doors, all the struggles and still get to witness the resiliency of providing and making a difference in our community.
“Whether it’s providing a new heating system to a deserving veteran at no cost, organizing a toy drive and hosting Santa to give away the toys to any families within the community and surrounding areas as well as donating them to a Children’s Hospital, countless number of volunteer projects that the leadership team is a part of through Rotary, church, events, and other organizations, everything that they do is done in love, and in hopes that their efforts will make the community and world a better place.
“I know every organization says this, but they truly care about their employees as if they were family, because to Mitch and Joey they are. Their values of family and faith would never lead them to think otherwise
about members of their team. They put an emphasis on ensuring that working for their companies will make their employees lives better outside of work as well giving them more free time and resources for them and their families to enjoy. Because of the recent growth, it has led to a handful of their employees buying homes within our Village of Newark to grow our community as well.
“Mitch has something called the 10 Commandments that he goes over whenever he interviews new hires. These things are based on integrity and values that individuals hold, and if they do not meet the criteria, they will not become a member of the team, no matter how talented they are. So, it isn’t just about the leadership of the company, their values align and bleed into the rest of the team as well allowing them to really hold true to Lagana’s commitment to excellence which emphasizes care for every customer.
“In a world were so many businesses are money-hungry, and driven by wealth, this business is a rare one that is driven by the wealth of relationships and love. For them, they just want to serve people & help them and spread that love to others. I don’t know many others who care about our community as much as the team over at Lagana Plumbing & Heating, and it shows within everything that they do, and their true heart behind it. Because of this that is what makes them so deserving of the business of the year. Congratulations!”