Photo: Phil Dwire, Vice President, Office Manager, talks about his experiences as a JA volunteer after being announced as a Golden Achievement Award winner at the annual Business and Education Leadership Awards Celebration.

Phil Dwire, Vice President, Office Manager, received a Golden Achievement Award from Junior Achievement (JA) of Northern Indiana at the annual Business and Education Leadership (BEL) Awards Celebration on May 24, 2017.

“We are very proud of the work Phil has done with young people through Junior Achievement,” said Kevin L. Deardorff, Executive Vice President, Retail Banking. “His dedication to their mission and his passion for teaching elementary school students about finances and business are an inspiration to the rest of us at Lake City Bank.”

The annual Golden Achievement Award was established to recognize volunteers, teachers and school administrators involved in Junior Achievement programs who inspire young people to dream big and reach their potential. Recipients are selected based on their innovation, outstanding dedication, past involvement, promotion of the programs, and excitement generated for work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Dwire was one of four people recognized with this award. Recipients were chosen from among 7,100 volunteers.

Dwire is the Office Manager of Lake City Bank’s Fort Wayne Northeast office. He started his career in financial services in 1979 and joined the bank in 2006. Dwire has volunteered with various aspects of the JA program for more than 30 years. He has taught JA and JA in a Day countless times and has participated in Business Drives that help JA raise support and recruit new volunteers.

“What JA means to me is the satisfaction of introducing how the business world functions with fun, exciting, hands-on lessons,” said Dwire. “Whether we’re teaching Needs & Wants, setting up a business that makes and sells paper doughnuts for the younger kids, or teaching fifth graders about global connections, we have the satisfaction of knowing we are introducing students to lessons that will prepare them for their future.”

JA of Northern Indiana annually serves 135,000 pre-kindergarten through high school young people across 30 counties in northern Indiana. It has achieved significant student learning outcomes and developed and sustained strong educator, volunteer and donor relationships since 1952.

Lake City Bank, a $4.3 billion bank headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, is the fourth largest bank headquartered in the state, and the largest bank 100% invested in Indiana. Lake City Bank operates 49 branch offices in northern and central Indiana, delivering technology-driven solutions in a client-centric way to individuals and businesses. The bank is the single bank subsidiary of Lakeland Financial Corporation (Nasdaq Global Select/LKFN).