MEDP Honors Two McMinnville MADE Award Winners at 2026 Chamber Gala
Oct 5, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2026
MEDP Honors New Energy Works / Pioneer Millworks and Jody Christensen with 2026 Awards
Presented on National Manufacturing Day during MEDP’s 20th anniversary year
McMINNVILLE, Ore. — The McMinnville Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) honored New Energy Works and Pioneer Millworks with the 2026 McMinnville Maker of the Year Award and Jody Christensen with the 2026 Kelly McDonald Business Leader of the Year Award at the McMinnville Area Chamber Annual Gala on Friday, October 2. The celebration coincided with National Manufacturing Day and MEDP’s 20th anniversary.
McMinnville Maker of the Year
Lori Robertson, owner of Cutting Edge Metals and a MEDP Board member, presented the Maker of the Year Award to New Energy Works and Pioneer Millworks. Founder and CEO Jonathan Orpin accepted the award.
The companies were recognized for their craftsmanship, sustainability, innovation, and continued investment in McMinnville. Their recent local manufacturing expansion includes a new 20,000-square-foot facility using carbon-negative concrete from McMinnville startup Solid Carbon. They also hosted the inaugural Pacific Northwest Industrial Symbiosis Conference Tour, bringing manufacturers and community partners together to explore how one company’s waste can become another’s resource.
Their community contributions include a timber-frame pavilion at Miller Woods, created with Solid Carbon and Elk Creek Forest Products and hand-raised by employees, partners, and volunteers, as well as the Cycle Yamhill wayfinding and rest station at Ed Grenfell Park. New Energy Works and Pioneer Millworks also recently became 100% employee-owned, giving employees a stake in the companies’ success.
“We make things here. We solve problems here. We build businesses, create jobs, and give people opportunities to build a career right here in our community,” Robertson remarked.
Kelly McDonald Business Leader of the Year
Kelly McDonald, a founding MEDP Board member and the award’s namesake, presented the Business Leader of the Year Award to Jody Christensen, MEDP’s first Executive Director.
Christensen began leading MEDP in September 2006 and spent 12 years building an organization businesses could count on for growth, recruitment, resources, and connections. She created McMinnville WORKS, a model that expanded into Oregon WORKS programs, and helped establish McMinnville’s Stable Table to connect MEDP, the Chamber, McMinnville Downtown Association, Visit McMinnville, and the City around shared economic opportunities.
In 2018, Christensen became the Mid-Valley Regional Solutions Coordinator, supporting businesses and communities through COVID and the Santiam Canyon wildfires. She later returned as the City of McMinnville’s Special Projects Manager, working on Third Street, McMinnville Landing, workforce development, and business recovery before retiring in May 2026.
“Twenty years after helping build MEDP, her fingerprints are still all over McMinnville’s economic development story,” McDonald noted.
MEDP also thanked McMinnville High School’s Fabrication and Engineering & Aerospace Sciences career technical pathways for creating the McMinnville MADE awards.
About MEDP and the Awards
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026, MEDP supports McMinnville’s economic growth through business retention and expansion, business attraction, workforce development, and innovation and entrepreneurial development. The Maker of the Year Award recognizes traded-sector companies for innovation, growth, and positive impact. The Kelly McDonald Business Leader of the Year Award honors exceptional leadership, integrity, and community commitment toward economic vitality.
Learn more at MEDP: McMinnville MADE Awards History
Media contact: McMinnville Economic Development Partnership
503.474.6814 | info@McMinnvilleBusiness.com
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