 |
|||||||||||||||
The Coxsackie Area Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit organization that started in 1996 and its now over 130 members strong. We are a voulenteer based driven group and our mission is to retain and expand existing businesses within the Athens, Coxsackie and New Baltimore area. Our ultimate goal is to attract new enterprises, to improve the business climate and to increase the public's awareness of the benifits of doing business and living in the Coxsackie area.
|
|||||||||||||||
THE LATEST CHAMBER NEWS
06/06/09
By Melanie Lekocevic (The Daily Mail)
COXSACKIE-ATHENS – The Coxsackie Area Chamber of Commerce last night honored some of the community’s best and brightest in the eighth annual ‘Come Grow with Us’ gala at the Quarry Steakhouse in Climax.
This year’s theme was “Through the Years”, and the awards that were handed out honored businesses and business owners who have made substantial contributions to their community over a number of years.
The Chamber’s Business of the Year Prism Award was given to State Telephone, which has served the Coxsackie area’s telecommunications needs for the past hundred years. It’s a field that has experienced tremendous change over the years – from crank-up telephones that needed an operator’s assistance to today’s vast wireless systems.
Back in the early days of State Telephone, the company served a total of 221 customers, and the cost was $1.25 a month. Telecommunications has experienced perhaps some of the biggest changes of any industry still in existence today.
“Things have changed enormously in the telephone business in the past one hundred years, and we are glad to be a part of those changes as we move ahead in the 21st century,” said company President Joseph Warren as he accepted the award alongside company Vice President Mark Evans.
Each year, the Chamber also selects an individual with an exemplary volunteer record to receive the Community Service Prism Award. This year, the honor was given to husband-and-wife team Chris and Carol Pfister, who have contributed countless hours to the Village of Athens.
Chris Pfister is a former Village Trustee and Deputy Mayor, and Carol Pfister is a former president of the D.R. Evarts Library and a member of the Athens Cultural Center’s Board of Trustees. They both volunteer each year to run the village’s Flower Program, and have been instrumental in numerous village projects, from the soon-to-be-completed Fourth St. Kayak Launch to the renovation of the historic Jan Van Loon House to the tree replanting program that ensures Athens’ natural treescape remains vital.
“This is a treasured award. We are honored that you would even think of us, and we were astounded to be selected. Carol and I look forward to doing more in the coming years,” Pfister said.
He also pointed to the volunteer work done by innumerable others, from firefighters to the eighty year old woman who participates in the library’s children’s hour each week.
“This is not just an award for Carol and me. It is an award for all the people in Athens and Coxsackie who volunteer their services to help out their community,” Pfister said.
Chamber President Doug Calkins also selects an honoree each year to receive the President’s Award. This year, he chose long-time barbershop owner Richard Bruno, who has operated his shop in Coxsackie for nearly fifty years. The local barbershop, Calkins said, is more than a place to cut hair – it is also the social heart of a community, a place for friends to gather, catch up, and meet new people. And that, he said, has made Bruno the epitome of small town America.
Accepting his award, the retired owner of Bruno’s Barber Shop said one of the best things about his business has been getting to know generations of Coxsackie residents.
“Coxsackie is the best place to live and work on this planet,” Bruno said.
Two esteemed Coxsackie residents were honored posthumously with the Forefathers Award. Raymond Beecher, the county’s historian for many years, made incalculable contributions to Coxsackie’s and Greene County’s written history, and Dr. Robert Chaloner was a highly respected physician, treating generations of Coxsackie residents and making house calls long after most other physicians had stopped doing so.
The Greene YMCA was also awarded the Promising New Venture Award. The Y is currently in the midst of a $5 million capital campaign, with hopes of building a full-service YMCA on Rte. 9W. While a storefront Y has been opened on Mansion St., the organization is still working to raise the rest of the contributions. So far, $1.6 million has been donated.
03/16/09
The Coxsackie Area Chamber of Commerce is here for you!
[More]
 |
|||||||||||||||