The local business community celebrated a successful year at the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce annual meeting and awards ceremony on Tuesday, January 29.

The event was held at Sunnydale, with a theme of  “Love, Your Chamber.” Green River BBQ, Southern Delights, and The Bottle provided refreshments for a crowd of 60 Chamber members and guests

“Our goal was to honor the outstanding members of our community for all their hard work, and to allow all attendees to network with each other,” said event organizer and Chamber President Stephanie Junge. “It blessed me to see how many people attended to honor and show respect for our award winners.”

Four awards were given out to honor contributions and achievements from area business owners and volunteers.

Dulcinea Juenger presented the Skip Seaman Volunteer of the Year Award to Cato Junge of Tile Specialties. Stephanie Junge presented Business Person of the Year Award to Green River BBQ’s Melanie Talbot. Meshelle Colvin presented Larry Wassong with the Citizen of the Year Award, and Craig DeBrew recognized Karen Dacey with the Duke Energy Citizenship & Service Award for her work with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The awards dinner is a chance to recognize the often-unsung work that goes into creating a thriving business committee and encourage all Chamber members to become more involved.

“For 2019, the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce’s motto is ‘Enhancing the Community’ via education and adding benefits for our membership holders,” said Junge. “I believe we are off to a great start and can’t wait to see what manifests throughout the year!”

– Submitted by Michelle Flemming