On February 6th, we held our Annual Meeting at the Alliance Convention Center in Burlington. The event brought together 200 chamber investors and community leaders for an evening of connection and celebration. Attendees enjoyed a networking reception and buffet dinner provided by Western Charcoal Steakhouse.
The program kicked off with a welcome from Chamber President & CEO, Reagan C. Gural. Gural recognized annual sponsors and volunteers and thanked them for their commitment to our organization. Gural also highlighted accomplishments from 2023 including the launch of a small business grant program and rebooting our advocacy work which will shape the 2024 legislative agenda. Gural also announced the release of the 2023 Annual Report, which can be found here.
Before moving into the awards program, Gural noted the value and impact of volunteers to our organization. “The value we bring to the business community and our ability to serve our mission is supported by amazing volunteers. Our volunteers support our programming and events by leading different initiatives within the Chamber.”
Outgoing Board Members Jennie Beshel (HUB International), Mary Faucette (Om Shanti Yoga), Isaac Gibson (The Gibson Group – Keller Williams) and Charles Canaday (American National Bank) were recognized for the completion of their board terms.
The Ambassador of the Year is selected through a peer nominated process and was awarded to Anderson Rathbun of the Burlington Sock Puppets. Chamber Officer of the Year was awarded to Patricia Rhodes of STOUT STUART MCGOWEN & KING LLP, and Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Allison Gant of the Blue Ridge Institute. The Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented by Alyssa Martina, Executive Director of the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation & Entrepreneurship with Elon University. The award was presented to Brittany & Ryan Shaw of Sweet B Cookies. Eric Henry of TS Designs was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Sandvik Coromant was recognized as the Community Partner of the Year, and The Harwood Institute, led by Impact Alamance was recognized as the Community Initiative of the Year. The 2023 Leader of Distinction award was presented to Marta Moos of Labcorp. This award recognizes a Leadership Alamance Alumni for their transformative leadership in their organization or in the community.
Another special recognition was the presentation of the prestigious Duke Energy Citizenship and Service award. This was presented to Tyson Fearrington of LegalShield for his unwavering commitment to volunteerism and service through dedication and compassion for others. Hank Henning of Duke Energy presented the award.
2023 Board Chair Doug Hyman, of done4ulaundry took the stage to offer remarks as outgoing chair. Doug highlighted notable accomplishments during his time the organization’s volunteer leader and was presented with a plaque as a thank you for his leadership and contributions by 2024 Chair Griffin McClure, of Green & McClure Furniture. McClure closed out the evening by sharing his excitement and setting the tone for his year as Board Chair. McClure stated “The future is a fun place to work. No great achievement ever came from shying away from the future. We must lean into it, anticipate it, and react to it.”
Thank you to everyone who sponsored and attended our Annual Meeting. To see all the event photos, taken by event photographer York’s Photography Studio, click here.