Submitted photo The Luksas are shown in the center of the accompanying photo, with Rotarian Bill Howard, left, who presented the award, and Shepherdstown Rotary Club President Sandy Sponaugle, right.

The Shepherdstown Rotary Club has presented its 2016 Vocational Service Award to Mike and Deb Luksa, the owners of Shepherdstown’s Press Room Restaurant and Coffee and Candlery Store.

The presentation was made at the Club’s December 20 weekly breakfast meeting at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown.

The award is given each year to outstanding community members who embody values and principles that exemplify Rotary values, especially service above self and a commitment to high professional and ethical standards.

In his remarks, Howard stressed that in addition to strengthening the town’s economy through their businesses, the Luksas have been very generous to the community by helping many local charities with sponsorships and donations of goods and services.

“Shepherdstown is fortunate to have a good number of businesses that give back to the community in this way, but Deb and Mike stand out as leaders and role models in this regard,” he said.

The Luksas have been active in Shepherdstown for more than three and a half decades.

Mike, who was originally from the Philadelphia area, came to the town in 1979 to be the lead chef of the Yellow Brick Bank restaurant, which had opened a few years before.

Deb, who was from the Washington suburbs, worked at the restaurant while she was a student at Shepherd, and continued to work there after she graduated in 1980. Eventually, she and Mike were married and they began working as a team

Deb opened the Coffee and Candlery store as a sideline of her own in 1993.

Mike continued as head chef at the Yellow Brick Bank until the restaurant was sold in 2005.

Deb and Mike established their own restaurant, the Press Room, in 2006. It opened in September of that year.

Both businesses are located on West German Street, downtown. The Luksas reside in Keedysville, Maryland.