- Companies
- Nonprofit Board Executives
- Nonprofit Executive Directors
- Philanthropist of the Year
2026 Northeast Ohio Pillar Awards for Community Service
About the Event
Since 1998, The Pillar Award for Community Service, presented by Smart Business, honors businesses of all types and sizes that make outstanding contributions to their communities. Its purpose is to encourage a charitable environment, recognize creative efforts that make a difference and demonstrate the ties between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. The Pillar Award for Community Service currently takes place in Cleveland. The Pillar Award embraces a broad definition of community service. It may consist of charitable giving, volunteerism, pro bono work or other forms of giving back. Service may be limited to a single organization or cause, or spread across numerous organizations and causes. Each nominee will be judged based on impact relative to its size rather than overall size of contribution or effort.
NOMINATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED!!
Do You Know a Pillar of the Community?
Now Accepting Nominations For:
Nominate a Nonprofit
Nominate a For-Profit Company
ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS THROUGH OCTOBER 2, 2026
Event Sponsors
THE CLASS OF 2025
PILLAR AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Apex Skin
Brennan, Manna & Diamond LLC
Cleveland Metroparks
Flynn Applebee’s
Higley Construction
HMT Associates, Inc.
Leaf Home
Rocket Mortgage
Seaman Corporation
Union Home Mortgage
PHILANTHROPIST OF THE YEAR:
Marc Byrnes, Oswald Companies/ Unison Risk Advisors
NONPROFIT BOARD EXECUTIVES OF THE YEAR AWARD:
Tom Hablitzel, American Heart Association
Susan Donlan, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Patricia Pophal, Melanoma Research Foundation
Neil Gavin, North Coast Community Homes
NONPROFIT EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR AWARD:
Christine Mayer, GAR Foundation
Beth Glas, Linking Employment, Abilities and Potential (LEAP)
Ann Conn, McGregor Foundation
Renee Harvey, Cleveland Browns Foundation
Sharon Sobol Jordan, United Way Cleveland