One is a well-known individual who has been a pillar in the Tamaqua community for decades.

The other two have made a major impact through their business located in the heart of the community.Paul Dodson, along with John and Melanie Ross, owners of the Tamaqua Station Restaurant, were honored for their achievements at the 65th annual Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce Community Dinner held Wednesday at the Mountain Valley Golf Course in Barnesville.Dodson was named the 2017 Joseph M. Plasko Citizenship Award Winner, while John and Melanie Ross earned the 2017 Tamaqua Chamber Business People of the Year distinction.State Sen. Dave Argall, along with Mary Linkevich, Tamaqua borough director of community development, served as the keynote speakers.Argall noted that up until about a quarter of a century ago, Tamaqua had experienced difficult times, but the community has since recovered rather nicely.He credited the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership for the community's ability to bounce back."I'm just so proud of this community," Argall said. "We worked together as a team."Linkevich gave a slideshow presentation on the Tamaqua City Revitalization and Improvement Zone.She said the borough has the infrastructure in place, and that she believes the CRIZ is going to take the borough to the next level.Linkevich said the Tamaqua CRIZ includes 297 parcels on more than 130 acres.Citations were then presented to Dodson, as well as John and Melanie, by Schuylkill County Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr., state Rep. Jerry Knowles and Argall.Halcovage said the Tamaqua area is a huge part of Schuylkill County, and told Dodson that he epitomizes what Tamaqua people are all about.He also praised John and Melanie, and added that they, like the people in attendance, are not talkers, but doers.Knowles said you could not find anyone more committed to the community than Dodson, and commended John and Melanie for the great job they've done with their business.Argall said he learned humility and patience from Dodson, and that he was so proud to see that John and Melanie have created a thriving business in the downtown.Dodson, who served as a teacher in the Tamaqua Area School District for over 40 years and was instrumental in establishing the school's wrestling program, said it was a "real honor to be chosen for this award.""It's great to see a lot of my former students here," he said. "That's really a testament that I must have had some influence on them."He now spends his time coordinating Tamaqua's annual Hunger Walk, which raises awareness and money for food banks in Tamaqua, and providing transportation to those in need for doctor appointments and cancer treatments.Dodson has also taken on leadership positions at Bethany Evangelical Church, and served as program director of the Tamaqua YMCA in the 1960s.John said the couple felt fortunate to be in the position they're in."We're very grateful for the warm welcome that we've received," he said. "We'd like to thank our staff; without them, we wouldn't have been able to do it."Melanie said that Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of when the couple served their first customer at the restaurant.The couple opened their restaurant in the historic Tamaqua Train Station in April 2016, and have since established an outstanding reputation for both themselves and the business."We're very proud to have been chosen, proud to be part of the community, and proud of our staff," she said.Previously co-owners of Madeline's Restaurant in Orwigsburg, they bring many years of experience.They participate in local events, donate to local organizations, and are sponsors of one of the Tamaqua Has Heart installations.