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Chamber Recognizes Award Recipients at Luncheon

Pictured on photo: John Synoski, Schumacher Engineering, Inc.-Small Business of the Year; Martha Herron, PPL Corporation-Large Business of the Year; Cathy Kurtz, Providence Place-Pride of Place Commercial Award; Benjamin J. Matteo, Rocco Colangelo, Sr. Volunteer of the Year Award; Kathleen Spolitino, Curves for Women-Healthy Workplace Award (small business); George Brown, First Quality Nonwovens-Healthy Workplace Award (large business);
Back Row: Lex Sloot, Chairman, Awards Committee; Joe Pickett, Network Solutions, sponsor; Jacqueline Barata, Bank of America, sponsor; Joe Dodgeson, Slusser Brothers, sponsor; John Morris, Equilibrium Equities, sponsor; Dr. Leo M. Hartz, Blue Cross of NEPA, sponsor; Terry Bauder, Luzerne County Community College, sponsor.

The Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce presented their 2007 Business and Community Awards at a special luncheon held on Friday, October 26th at the Stagecoach Inn, Drums.  The luncheon was sponsored by Luzerne County Community College.

Winning the Small Business of the Year Award, sponsored and presented by Joe Pickett, Senior Director of Customer Service of NetworkSolutions, was Schumacher Engineering, Inc.  Accepting on behalf of  Schumacher Engineering was John Synoski, Vice President.

The Large Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Bank of America and presented by Jacqueline Barata, was won by PPL Corporation.  Accepting on behalf of PPL was Martha Herron, Regional Community Relations Director.

The “Rocco Colangelo, Sr.” Volunteer of the Year Award, sponsored by Equilibrium Equities and presented by John Morris, was won by Benjamin Matteo.  

The Pride of Place-Commercial Award, sponsored by Slusser Brothers and presented by Joe Dodgeson, went to Providence Place Retirement Community.  Accepting on behalf of Providence Place was Cathy Kurtz, Administrator.

The Healthy Workplace Awards, sponsored by Blue of Northeastern Pennsylvania, in cooperation with ChamberChoice, were presented by Dr. Leo M. Hartz, Clinical Advocacy and Chief Medical Officer of Blue Cross to Curves for Women(small business) and to First Quality Nonwovens, Inc. (large business).  Accepting on behalf of Curves for Women was Kathleen Spolitino, Owner.  George Brown, Manager of Human Resources  accepted on behalf of First Quality Nonwovens.

According to Lex Sloot, Chairman of the Awards Committee, “The awards were initiated to highlight businesses that are located in the Greater Hazleton Area, and to recognize the important role that volunteers play in our community.   Mr. Sloot states, “The judging was extremely difficult with many excellent applicants in each category.  However, I feel that the judges made excellent choices with the above-mentioned winners.”

The event was held in celebration of Chamber of Commerce month. For additional information on the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce and its services, call 570-455-1509 or visit us on the web at www.hazletonchamber.org