***For Immediate Press Release***
Date: October 17, 2022
GALAX – The Twin County Chamber of Commerce hosted its Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday, October 6th at Crossroads Institute in Galax. For the past two years the meeting was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.
The Chamber Board of Directors were excited to host the meeting this year and honored both 2021 and 2022 award recipients.
With over 65 members in attendance, the Chamber served “Breakfast for Dinner” along with networking at 5:30 p.m.
Anthony Edwards, Chamber Board President, began the evening by giving an update to the membership about the mission and structure of the Chamber, its organization committees, and a FY2022 and YTD financial update.
Executive Director, Laura Whitt, followed with the Membership Update including membership growth, the new Twin County Events Website, upcoming projects, and information regarding the Small Business Alliance with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
Jason Baumgardner, Co-Chair of the Smoke on the Mountain gave an update on the Annual Event – and encouraged everyone to save the date for the 18th Annual Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship in Downtown Galax for July 21 + 22, 2023.
Several awards were presented that evening including 15 Under 40 Professional Awards, Small and Large Business of the Year, Non-Profit of the Year, Chamber Citizen of the Year, Board and Committee Members of the Year, Executive Director’s Award, President’s Award and the newest award, the Community Legacy Award.
The recipients are as follows:
2022 Awards
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Community Legacy Award – Mava Vass (Hillsville)
President’s Award – Chuck Edwards (Cana)
Executive Director’s Award – Cliff and Cynthia Kempa (Galax)
Large Business of the Year – Skyline National Bank (Independence)
Small Business of the Year – Briar Patch Marketplace & Cafe (Galax)
Non Profit Organization of the Year – Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc (Independence)
Chamber Citizen of the Year – Lucas Austin (Grayson)
Smoke on The Mountain Galax, VA. Volunteer of the Year – Russell Austin (Galax)
Chamber Board Member of the Year – Jason Baumgardner (Grayson)
Chamber Committee Member of the Year – Shannon Dalton (Carroll)
2021 Awards
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President’s Award – Beth White (Galax)
Executive Director’s Award – Tracy Cornett (Grayson)
Large Business of the Year – Food City (Galax + Grayson)
Small Business of the Year – Senior Home Share, LLC (Galax)
Non-Profit Organization – Friends of Hillsville Inc. (Hillsville)
Chamber Citizen of the Year – Jeff Pickett (Hillsville)
Smoke on The Mountain Galax, VA. Volunteer of the Year – Jason Baumgardner and Michael Stevens
Chamber Board Member of the Year – Anthony Edwards (Carroll)
Chamber Committee Member of the Year – Shannon Dalton (Carroll)
For more information or questions regarding the Twin County Chamber of Commerce, please contact Executive Director Laura Whitt at laura@twincountychamber.com.
Large Business of the Year – 2022
Skyline National Bank
Community Legacy Award – 2022
Mava Vass
Executive Director’s Award – 2022
Cliff and Cynthia Kempa
President’s Award – 2022
Chuck Edwards