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ShareGreater Stamford Area Chamber Honors Members
  
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By Erika Eklund
SOUTH KORTRIGHT - Members of the Greater Stamford Area Chamber of Commerce (GSACC) and special guests gathered at the Hidden Inn in South Kortright last Thursday for the chanber’s annual awards dinner. Outstanding businesses, individuals and service organizations were honored for their accomplishments and contributions to the community.
More than 80 guests attended the event, which began with a cocktail hour and meet and greet. With the theme of “Celebrating the Spirit of the Catskills”, guests at the event enjoyed carefully prepared hors d'oeuvres, including short ribs with crispy potatoes, ricotta gnocchi with butternut squash and braised pork with cabbage slaw. Cocktail hour was followed by a buffet dinner including salad and several pasta options with local products.
GSACC President Velga Kundzins-Tan welcomed guests during the awards portion of the evening and thanked all in attendance. “This evening we asked you to come and ‘Celebrate the spirit of the Catskills’ with us,” said Kundzins-Tan. “This spirit has been severely tested in the last few months. However, it has continued to prove to be resilient.”
Kundzins-Tan thanked local media, including The Mountain Eagle and The Watershed Post for their reporting on events throughout the region during and after Hurricane Irene. She also thanked Roxbury’s WIOX radio station for its efforts and congratulated them on a new partnership with The Watershed Post.
WIOX Production Manager Mike Teitelbaum spoke to those gathered about the station’s first year of being on the air. He said from the start they have been blessed with a number of individuals who have a real passion for the music and information and brought a true enthusiasm to the table.
Teitelbaum said the station plays music from all genres, including, rock, pop, jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, grunge, indie, new wave, punk, alternative, classical and many, many more. He said the station now also presents local news, comedy, information on cars, the arts and more.
Teitelbaum said the first year on the air was extremely successful and the station planned a full week of events to celebrate the one year anniversary of going live. He said everyone was excited and working 110 percent for a week of events kicking off on Saturday, Aug. 27. “Then August 28 came and everything turned on a dime,” he said.
Teitelbaum said the radio station became a community hub of information and stepped into the role of connecting those in need with those who had donations and other offers to help. Though the station had no formal news department, he said they just grabbed a notepad, collected what information they could and did what needed to be done.
“One person said to us that in a way, it was the best anniversary we could have had,” he said. “In those days we went from patting ourselves on the back to being a real service to the community. We really evolved and grew up during that time.”
Kundzins-Tan took time to recognize another community radio station which acted as a lifeline to residents during and in the days after Hurricane Irene. As the “Voice of the Mountaintop Region”, she said WRIP’s Joe Loverro and Sonny Rock, along with General Manager Jay Fink, stayed on the air 24 hours a day, bringing minute by minute information to those throughout the region during Irene’s visit and in the days and weeks that followed.
Radio personality Joe Loverro said he was still very new to the area and had just recently started at the radio station when Irene arrived on Aug. 28. He said it was perhaps the quickest way imaginable to learn about the geography, people and spirit of the region and make him proud to call it home.
Loverro said on the day of the storm the power went out, the generator kicked in and immediately the music stopped and they went on the air. He said they all worked hard and made it their mission to make sure they weren’t reporting rumors as they provided information to residents who were otherwise cut off from any news source. He said they helped to connect people looking for each other, provided information on shelters, relief work and road closures and simply got the work out about what was happening in towns and villages in their coverage area.
“One of the most challenging things was finding the balance between humor and the very serious situation happening all around us,” said Loverro. He said it was an experience which changed his life and demonstrated the perseverance and generosity of the people who live in the area. “Someone told me that if it wasn’t such a bad thing, it would have been a great thing,” he said. “I would have to agree.”
The 2011 GSACC Award for Business of the Year was presented by 2010 business of the year recipient Heather Clark of TP’s Family Cafe and was awarded to Shaver-Hill Farm, of Harpersfield. “Many people say they want to see more farms in the area and that we can’t let farms die off,” said Kundzins-Tan. “Since 1912 this farm has produced maple syrup products and they have been produced continuously since that time.”
She said although Shaver-Hill Farm is a family operation, they don’t just tick close to home. She said they sell their products at farmers markers and ship them all over the world. “Without a business like Shaver-hill, not just our landscape, but our business community would be vastly different,” she said.
The Not-For-Profit of the Year Award was presented to the WIOX Community Radio Management Team. “We recognize how important local media is to the community’s fabric and we appreciate the scores of volunteers that make the station possible,” said Kundzins-Tan.
The Volunteer of the Year Award was given to Joyce Barber, of Breezy Acres Bed and Breakfast, in Hobart. Kundzins-Tans said the award goes to a chamber member that has served the Greater Stamford Area’s business community and made significant contributions to it. She said Barber has not only organized numerous ribbon cutting ceremonies throughout they year as a one woman welcoming committee, but has also baked cookies in customized shapes for them.
The final award of the evening was presented to the an organization which offered outstanding support to the chamber and its community and was awarded to CORE Values Inc, of Stamford.
“From financial support given for past chamber events such as the fireworks and the Scarecrow Festival, to the tens of thousands of dollars that they re-invest into our communities, to the unbelievable amounts of clothing and household goods that they provided to flood victims after Irene and Lee visited, we felt that this years award should go to CORE Values,” said Kundzins-Tan.
CORE’s Vice President and Recording Secretary Dick Hinman accepted the award and said CORE Values was first established by two local pastors as a ministry to the community. He said since that time the organization has been able to put $550,000 back into the community through their various charities, scholarships and contributions. Made possible by the work of over 75 volunteers, Hinman said they always need more and encouraged anyone who was interested to come and help out.
The awards ceremony helped the GSACC wrap up another successful year and celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of member businesses and the individuals who make them such an asset to the community.
More than 80 guests attended the event, which began with a cocktail hour and meet and greet. With the theme of “Celebrating the Spirit of the Catskills”, guests at the event enjoyed carefully prepared hors d'oeuvres, including short ribs with crispy potatoes, ricotta gnocchi with butternut squash and braised pork with cabbage slaw. Cocktail hour was followed by a buffet dinner including salad and several pasta options with local products.
GSACC President Velga Kundzins-Tan welcomed guests during the awards portion of the evening and thanked all in attendance. “This evening we asked you to come and ‘Celebrate the spirit of the Catskills’ with us,” said Kundzins-Tan. “This spirit has been severely tested in the last few months. However, it has continued to prove to be resilient.”
Kundzins-Tan thanked local media, including The Mountain Eagle and The Watershed Post for their reporting on events throughout the region during and after Hurricane Irene. She also thanked Roxbury’s WIOX radio station for its efforts and congratulated them on a new partnership with The Watershed Post.
WIOX Production Manager Mike Teitelbaum spoke to those gathered about the station’s first year of being on the air. He said from the start they have been blessed with a number of individuals who have a real passion for the music and information and brought a true enthusiasm to the table.
Teitelbaum said the station plays music from all genres, including, rock, pop, jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, grunge, indie, new wave, punk, alternative, classical and many, many more. He said the station now also presents local news, comedy, information on cars, the arts and more.
Teitelbaum said the first year on the air was extremely successful and the station planned a full week of events to celebrate the one year anniversary of going live. He said everyone was excited and working 110 percent for a week of events kicking off on Saturday, Aug. 27. “Then August 28 came and everything turned on a dime,” he said.
Teitelbaum said the radio station became a community hub of information and stepped into the role of connecting those in need with those who had donations and other offers to help. Though the station had no formal news department, he said they just grabbed a notepad, collected what information they could and did what needed to be done.
“One person said to us that in a way, it was the best anniversary we could have had,” he said. “In those days we went from patting ourselves on the back to being a real service to the community. We really evolved and grew up during that time.”
Kundzins-Tan took time to recognize another community radio station which acted as a lifeline to residents during and in the days after Hurricane Irene. As the “Voice of the Mountaintop Region”, she said WRIP’s Joe Loverro and Sonny Rock, along with General Manager Jay Fink, stayed on the air 24 hours a day, bringing minute by minute information to those throughout the region during Irene’s visit and in the days and weeks that followed.
Radio personality Joe Loverro said he was still very new to the area and had just recently started at the radio station when Irene arrived on Aug. 28. He said it was perhaps the quickest way imaginable to learn about the geography, people and spirit of the region and make him proud to call it home.
Loverro said on the day of the storm the power went out, the generator kicked in and immediately the music stopped and they went on the air. He said they all worked hard and made it their mission to make sure they weren’t reporting rumors as they provided information to residents who were otherwise cut off from any news source. He said they helped to connect people looking for each other, provided information on shelters, relief work and road closures and simply got the work out about what was happening in towns and villages in their coverage area.
“One of the most challenging things was finding the balance between humor and the very serious situation happening all around us,” said Loverro. He said it was an experience which changed his life and demonstrated the perseverance and generosity of the people who live in the area. “Someone told me that if it wasn’t such a bad thing, it would have been a great thing,” he said. “I would have to agree.”
The 2011 GSACC Award for Business of the Year was presented by 2010 business of the year recipient Heather Clark of TP’s Family Cafe and was awarded to Shaver-Hill Farm, of Harpersfield. “Many people say they want to see more farms in the area and that we can’t let farms die off,” said Kundzins-Tan. “Since 1912 this farm has produced maple syrup products and they have been produced continuously since that time.”
She said although Shaver-Hill Farm is a family operation, they don’t just tick close to home. She said they sell their products at farmers markers and ship them all over the world. “Without a business like Shaver-hill, not just our landscape, but our business community would be vastly different,” she said.
The Not-For-Profit of the Year Award was presented to the WIOX Community Radio Management Team. “We recognize how important local media is to the community’s fabric and we appreciate the scores of volunteers that make the station possible,” said Kundzins-Tan.
The Volunteer of the Year Award was given to Joyce Barber, of Breezy Acres Bed and Breakfast, in Hobart. Kundzins-Tans said the award goes to a chamber member that has served the Greater Stamford Area’s business community and made significant contributions to it. She said Barber has not only organized numerous ribbon cutting ceremonies throughout they year as a one woman welcoming committee, but has also baked cookies in customized shapes for them.
The final award of the evening was presented to the an organization which offered outstanding support to the chamber and its community and was awarded to CORE Values Inc, of Stamford.
“From financial support given for past chamber events such as the fireworks and the Scarecrow Festival, to the tens of thousands of dollars that they re-invest into our communities, to the unbelievable amounts of clothing and household goods that they provided to flood victims after Irene and Lee visited, we felt that this years award should go to CORE Values,” said Kundzins-Tan.
CORE’s Vice President and Recording Secretary Dick Hinman accepted the award and said CORE Values was first established by two local pastors as a ministry to the community. He said since that time the organization has been able to put $550,000 back into the community through their various charities, scholarships and contributions. Made possible by the work of over 75 volunteers, Hinman said they always need more and encouraged anyone who was interested to come and help out.
The awards ceremony helped the GSACC wrap up another successful year and celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of member businesses and the individuals who make them such an asset to the community.
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