The recipients of the most prestigious awards presented annually by the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce were honored at their Annual Meeting & Reception that was held at the Hilton Garden Inn - Glastonbury on January 25, 2012.
The Joining Forces Award, honoring the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year, was presented. This is the Chamber’s most prestigious award and is given to an accomplished businessperson who has started, developed, expanded, or otherwise effectively managed a business. This person is also a recognized leader dedicated to the economic growth in the area and involved in civic projects that help improve the quality of life in Glastonbury and neighboring communities. The 2011 Business Person of the Year award was presented to Steve Weir, founder and president of American Integrity Restoration, a disaster restoration contracting company based in Glastonbury and Milford. Steve started AIR in 2005 and has rapidly grown to employ 35 employees, in a very short (and very busy) 6 years. AIR has become a major player in the Connecticut insurance restoration industry through referrals and word of mouth alone. AIR has seen a miraculous annual sales growth of more than 50% each year since inception.
Prior to starting AIR, Steve was most recently a Police Officer with the Glastonbury Police Department where he worked in the Patrol Division, and also Community Policing and Crime Prevention. Steve has worked as a real estate agent and owned his own landscaping and contracting business after leaving the University of Connecticut. Steve’s father, Dennis is a past recipient of this same award.
The Ambassador of the Year Award is given in recognition of a member of the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Committee who has been dedicated to assisting the Chamber in recruiting and retaining members and representing the Chamber in the community.
This year Bobby DiBella was named the 2011 Ambassador of the Year. As an Ambassador in 2011 Bobby attended every Business After Hours, attended 24 Ribbon Cuttings and brought in 9 new members. Bobby has been a Chamber member since 1971 and became an Ambassador in 2004. Bobby has been an active member of the Chamber with his involvement of the Riverfront Music Series, and the Apple Harvest Festival. He is very active in the town not only due to his role with the Glastonbury Emergency Management, but his love for Glastonbury. This was his second time being honored as the Ambassador of the Year.
The Chamber also presented two additional awards to those Chamber members that went above and beyond their commitment to the Chamber and the Glastonbury community in 2011. The first award was presented to Garrett Ludwig of Diversified Design Technologies. With the sudden passing of Dave Cox, Garrett stepped up to revise the Apple Harvest Festival’s layout in such a way that the planning process will be far more efficient for future festivals. He spent a great deal of time making sure very detailed information was included on the plan to help deter problems. He coordinated the surveying with the town, directed the marking of the field and served as troubleshooter at vendor setup and throughout the weekend.
The second Chairman’s award was presented to Lynn Wagner of American Eagle Federal Credit Union for her team spirit and leadership. An active member of the Chamber’s Health &Wellness Council, Lynn proposed and captianed the Chamber’s Dragon Boat Team in Riverfront Recapture’s Asian Festival last August and is already at work recruiting for this year’s team. Lynn has also organized the Chamber’s Volley Ball. The Chamber is grateful to individuals like Lynn that are committed to creating ways for members to engage in wellness activities together.
We would like to thank our Annual Meeting sponsors: Farmington Bank (Presenting Sponsor), AT&T, Fandotech, First Niagara Bank, Rockville Bank, Nutmeg State Federal Credit Union, Total Team Solutions, Keep This Handy, Margaret Wilcox of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Moving Mountains, Rushford, and People’s United Bank.
View photos from the annual dinner meeting.
View 2011 Annual Report and Recap of the 2012 Annual Dinner Meeting