e e e e e e e [Music] online by phone or on our app our entire team communicates with one another so everyone works together on your Total Health Plus we make it even easier with all of these additional benefits level up your health with us Complete Care Health Network no gains just great health care for everyone hear me out there so welcome to our president's party 2024 lending your business a hand right let's see those hands I'm Donn Hunter your executive director of the greater violent Chamber of Commerce we are so excited to be with you this evening as we celebrate our members and begin our 105th Year I hope you enjoyed our live music with musically your special thanks to our event sponsor milville Savings Bank and thank you to everyone who placed an ad in the program book tonight so I'd like you to welcome our sponsor Kathy Ingram of milville Savings Bank to say a few words [Applause] please good evening everyone I'm Kathy Ingram I'm vice president of milville Savings Bank we are a proud sponsor for tonight's president's party while honoring our outgoing and our incoming president and our board of directors also congratulations to all of our award recipients tonight it's well deserved you guys are a definite asset to our community so thank you all for coming and thank you all for for supporting the vinin chamber you want to grab all right so we're going to start off with a door prize right and these were generously donated the first prize by milville Savings bank so I'm trying to mix up this uh basket of tickets really well and this prize goes to sorry can't read that [Music] 61539 615 390 is that you yes oh [Applause] boy all right we're after a great start thank you milville Savings Bank all right I would like to introduce you to our 2024 2025 board of directors all these board directors volunteer their time energy and monetary support in one United Vision so we can accomplish our mission they are dedicated to this organization and our community I am very grateful for their support and to have such a wonderful board to work with as I call your name please stand and remain standing until the entire group has been introduced first we have our outgoing president Stacy Liston of Liston Ford who has served 14 years if you want to hold your applause we might get through this a little quicker it's kind of a big board but we appreciate that our incoming president is Jason is the First National Bank of obsin who has served seven years our first vice president is Mike Tuscano of mence insurance who has served four years our solicitor is Steve barcy from the city of violent he served five years our Treasurer is Sandra Weber who has served one year then we have Keith bacero of South Jersey litho who has served nine years Stephanie Burge of tower hospitality is new to our board this year Dave cenzo from Utopia Salon and Spa has served six years Lindsay Harmon of TD Bank is new to the board this year Dolores Hoffman of Panos Funeral Home has served three years and is an award recipient tonight Kathy Ingram of mville savings bank has served one year Lily kesman of kesman hospitality and realy has served four years Timothy lameek of Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital of vinin has served one year Mar Amazo of Members First of New Jersey Federal Credit Union has served two years Mariam Neri of the flower shop has served one year Donna Perez of Wells Fargo advisers has served eight years Christa Riley from The Grove at Centerton has served one year Anna Saul from inspir health is new to the board this year and David scales of State Farm scales steam has served four years please congratulate these board directors for me thank you [Applause] all right on to door prize number two so this one is a little different we had a sponsor of the door prize Bay Atlantic Federal Credit Union thank you and um we do a little trivia for this so we're going to pull a ticket and um Kathy is going to come over to you and see if you can guess the aners multiple choice and if you guess the answer you get the prize and in Bay Atlantic now there's only three multiple choices so after two people it's kind of a default if you get it but uh B they they H donated and we're not going to bring it to your SE because it's very heavy but it's a 24 in fire pit that is packed with goodies so you're going to love it ready all right so the first person to guess the prize all right ready hello I don't want to draw the number and you not hear that are we good no hello we're working on it that was bad timing hello Talk Amongst yourself hello you definitely are speechless at the moment who's got a big booming voice all right can everybody hear me I'm going to yell this okay all right the number is 615 393 raise your hand if that's your ticket all right ready Kathy's going to come over here's and um so she can kind of relay the question in case I don't hear what you say so the question is in 2002 the bay Atlantic Federal Credit Union changed their name to better reflect their growing and diverse membership what was their former name so it's multiple choice a Kimble glass company Federal Credit Union B Kimbell Fred excuse me Kimbell Federal Credit Union or C Atlantic Kimble Federal Credit Union which one C no I'm sorry that's wrong good try though all right everybody ready here's the next person to try 615 [Applause] 315 oh what a nice guy nice guy all right let's try this 615 319 all right right here down in front here okay do you do you want me to repeat the question I'm B is correct Bay Atlanta Federal Credit Union change their name to Kimbell Federal Credit Union very good so you you will leave with a very heavy door prize thank you all right I pr you all right it is now time to recognize our outgoing president Stacy Liston of Liston Ford Stacy joined our board of directors in 2010 she volunteered to help with the dandelion dinner and then involvement with the organization spurred her to join the board little did she imagine that that she would be interested in being an executive of the violin chamber and become our president it has been my pleasure to see Stacy grow in her leadership roles and she has done an amazing job for us she is a smart businesswoman she is a professional she is always well prepared has a good sense of humor and is very supportive of everything this organization does Stacy genu genuinely cares about people and she is thoughtful of appreciating the volunteerism of our board directors when Stacy's two-year term as president was ending we had an unexpected change in leadership that left us with a void and Stacy did not hesitate to stay on for another year as president I am very grateful to her for that Stacy has one more year of service as our past president and will end with a total of 15 years on our board as I also began this job in 2010 we have walked this 14-year journey together and I know I have made a true friend please join me in appreciating our outgoing president Stacy lison [Applause] [Applause] okay she told me not to cry so that's going to be a little difficult oh goodness D thank you so much uh for that tremendous uh honor of an introduction um it is uh later on in my speech I have something I want to say to you but um I'm going to start out with thanking Jeff George who's here sitting at our table tonight because I wouldn't be standing here if it was not for him he encouraged me many years ago to become an executive and he gave had all the faith in the world in me when sometimes I didn't have it in myself so I appreciate you I thank you for your friendship thank you for standing by me and always always being the perfect role model so thank you [Applause] it has been the biggest honor and privilege being the president the journey began for me as Don said when I began as a volunteer on the dandelion dinner and I was not part of the chamber board I was just a volunteer that was 14 years ago my time as a board director and on the executive board has allowed me to grow as a person and hopefully my staff would say be a better leader this organization has evolved and accomplished so many things throughout the years and I am so proud that I was able to be a part of it we've developed new and innovative ways to Network new Partnerships and initiatives through collaborating and sharing ideas creating new and exciting events and finding ways to support one another this is to bring the highest level of value to our members and as the voice on behalf of our business Community I truly believe our chamber is stronger than ever to the board of directors I want to thank you for your generous donation of your time and your commitment and dedication to the chamber as Dawn often says we truly have the best board everyone is of like Minds The sole purpose of serving others the chamber would not be the success that it is without each and every one of you so thank you to Dawn I'm filled with extreme gratitude for being able to work alongside of you all of these years I want to thank you for being the nucleus and the MVP of this organization your passion and dedication for the chamber in our community shines through in everything that you do a few years ago we presented you with a gift that was a a bracelet it was a compass which signified your guidance and direction as someone we can always rely on to show us the right way and on the other side of it was engraved never stop exploring you never stop finding opportunities to help us unite and grow to be the strongest chamber thank you [Applause] to to my family uh I want to thank my family for their unconditional love and support in everything that I do uh inside and outside of the family and and work a special thank you to my mom uh she's just been the best role model Mentor friend Pillar of Strength and source of inspiration for me in closing I want to say a huge congratulations to our new president Jason and our vice president Mike desano Jason it has been a great pleasure getting to know you over the past year I'm excited for this new chapter as you begin your presidency I know we are in excellent hands and you'll make a positive impact As you move forward Along on your journey and in closing I cite a quote that I did before from Henry Ford as it's so appropriate which was coming together is a beginning keeping together is progress and working together is Success adding if everyone is moving forward together then success takes care of itself thank you so [Applause] much I want you to open it here so you can see it we have a gift for Stacy can you see it that's all right but look what it is oh my gosh it's a dandelion it lights up thank you that's where it all began that's right exactly thank you so much that is so [Applause] wonderful okay even stronger please welcome Jason SC say our incoming [Applause] president hello I'm Jason size thank you for all coming tonight and supporting our award recipients and chamber I'd like to thank all of our sponsors and a special thanks to our main sponsor mville savings I'd also like to thank our board members our past president of Stacy Lon and our director Dawn Hunter um tonight we are honoring small businesses large businesses our board member of the year we have a new mayor Economic Development award the coveted dony award and I just wanted to point out that something every award recipient has in common is hard work and sacrifice I've been very proud to be the presid of our 400 plus member chamber we have a great group of businesses and I vow to do my best for every one of our business owners their families and their employees to make certain the greater Vin CH Chamber of Commerce continues to serve you um with that being said my two years as president will be dedicated to honor your early mornings your late nights your cold dinners your Miss birthday parties and other important life events that you had to sacrifice as entrepreneurs and dedicated employees please continue to support each other and refer new businesses into to our chamber [Applause] thanks all right here we go presentation of our Awards this evening first we have a board director service recognition to Kevin gabala of TD Bank Kevin served seven years on this board he supported this organization with an annual partnership package from TV bank Kevin was a dedicated and engaged board director attending almost all of our events volunteering to help review our bylaws and he served on our Partnerships and recognition committee our Hispanic business Alliance committee and our Golf and Games event committee we miss his presence on the board but we are happy he is staying connected please join me in showing our gratitude to Kevin gabala [Applause] now we have our board director of the Year David scales Jr of State Farm scales [Applause] team David has served on our board for six years he believes in supports our mission Dave is an active board member who attends almost every event we host rarely misses anything he always offers to support our events through sponsorships advertising and donations Dave's always willing to help us set up and clean up at all the events he steps up to carry and deliver items in his truck for our golf event he is an active and involved member of the partnership and recognition committee always willing to take the longest list of delivering campaign materials to our members um he welcomed our executive director Dawn that joined his team in the violent holiday parade and even displayed the gbcc banner on his truck he never says no to anyone that we are aware of and he's all around great guy so thank you Dave [Applause] thanks Dave all right now we will present our business awards for 2024 when I finish announcing your award please come up to the stage area and receive it from Jason first is our large business of the Year Jag physical therapy Jack Physical Therapy deserves this award because they have shown dedication to the community throughout New York New Jersey and Pennsylvania Jack Physical Therapy has volunteered over at over a hundred events they are proud sponsors of sports organizations schools Charities event centers and more Jag has been awarded multiple Awards and was most recently awarded Summerset County's business of the Year award the Jag violing facility offers a special service of pelvic floor therapy the clinic also offers various services such as physical therapy cuffing therapy assessments for neurological conditions and concussions treatment for orthopedic and sports injuries and so much more Jag Physical Therapy brings extraordinary care to the community please join me in congratulating Jag physical therapy as our large business of the year [Applause] congratulations thank you we received several nominations for our small business of the year so the committee had a tough time selecting just one that's why we ended up with two very deserving members for this year's award our first small business of the year goes to cutting inch cleaning owned by Christa gallagan we received multiple nominations for cutting inch cleaning and this is what some of them said I couldn't think of a company that is more deserving of this award I have watched Christa grow into such an amazing person she has worked so hard to get where she is today Cutting Edge goes above and beyond to provide the utmost quality in the industry they provide they Pride themselves on being everything you could want in a cleaning company and more the cuttingedge cleaning crew has been cleaning my residents monthly for a few years now they are always courteous personable and professional if I need their services for more than my residential cleaning every month they are always willing to go above and beyond to make it work with my schedule if I have to cancel or adjust a date or time they need to come out they are very flexible as well it is rare to find a cleaning company that is making a difference every day one sparkly clean at a home at a time and Christa herself said I feel so very proud of my employees our accomplishments and our growth this year my team is what makes me strive for more I can only hope that I provide that for all of them we have grown so much and we continue to grow I strive to provide above par service to every single one of my clients having loyal clients for these six years means that I am doing something right being a woman in business is one of my proudest accomplishments leading by example with support and compassion are just a few ways I run my company we are always striving for new ways to give back to our community and volunteering with different organizations whenever possible the future is bright and I would add that it Sparkles for you please join me in congratulating Cutting Edge cleaning as our small business of the year [Applause] did you want to say something yes please I did I did offer each award recip they wanted to say a few words they could thank you thank you very much I'm going to try very hard not to get emotional but um first and foremost I want to congratulate all the other award recipients tonight I am humbled to be amongst all of you amazing business people and entrepreneurs um then I would like to thank the chamber it's been amazing for my company it's been amazing for my employees it has helped me grow it has helped me learn and I will continue to be a part of it for as long as I can thank you to Dawn she is amazing you are an extreme role model oh thank you and I'm very thankful that I took the opportunity to join this chamber thank you to my mentor Lily you have been amazing and I appreciate you more than you're ever going to know thank you to my fiance who puts up with my late nights and really missing out on so many things that uh I could be a part of but instead I'm building my company and trying to do the best that I can thank you to my employees two of which who are here tonight uh you make this worth it in every way that I could possibly say so thank you so much um this year has been amazing I'm completely humbled um and I would just like to say one more thing cuz Don said no long speeches so um I would like to thank all of the wom that came before me who had to stand behind a man and allow him to get all of the um the glory for the work that was done because if it wasn't for them then I wouldn't be standing here today to be able to accept this award so thank you so much and I hope everybody has a great evening our second small business of the year is pan Coast Funeral Home owned by the Hoffman family this business began in 1976 as and has been a strong thriving business within the community for the last 48 years the Hoffman family and staff took over the business 24 years ago and are very proud to still be a family-owned and operated business with four full-time and six part-time employees they are very connected to the people they serve which was never more evident when the co pandemic began four years ago they were among the few funeral homes that remained open and continued to hold public visitations within the guidelines of the state's mandate during the pandemic and despite the risks and obstacles the staff faced they helped grieving families cope and were able to grant them closure today now in their third generation pan Coast has remained steadfast and serving the public during life's most difficult times they have also given back to this community over the years Bill Panos started the tradition of sponsoring the local Boy Scout Troop it blossomed into supporting other worthy organizations nonprofit clubs churches and parishes they regularly donate flowers to local nursing homes and help the neighborhood food pantries gather donations in addition to their community outreach they have three staff members who have given many years of volunteer fire service to the community as well join me in congratulating panco funeral home as our small business of the year [Applause] David scales you want to give away your door prize while we're waiting [Music] no all right we'll give away a door C Dolores did you want to say anything or no all right we're going to hear from Dolores before we get do the door I just want to say something very brief I know uh this community is full of small businesses that um do the dirty work and do the hard work and uh I know for our business uh you you throw in the emotional component and it's uh it makes it very challenging but very rewarding in um so on behalf of myself and Caitlyn and and Matthew who are now generation owners and um second generation owners and Donna the funeral director uh that we rely on all the time and Jim who couldn't be here tonight he's in uh Pennsylvania I just want to say thank you so much thank you all right as we mentioned how generous David scales is he brought a tremendous his door prize this evening so we're just going to pull the ticket there's no question involved and uh he's going to get his basket it's full of regional wines wine bottles and other goodies all right here we go 615 344 344 oh you got no 615 344 all right oh there he is a delayed response all right thank you David scales State Farm scales [Applause] do you want do you want to leave it up here on the table if you want to okay our business person of the year is Brian dama of frush Masters painting contractors of violent Brian and his team um oh I'm sorry we had several nominations for Brian and um that's have made this Choice very easy for us and I'm just going to give you a sample of what some of those people said Brian and his team were friendly from the first meeting to completion of the job we've lived in our home almost 20 years and we were trying to update our cabinet Brian came in and gave us an estimate for the work we felt comfortable with him in the price and knowledge that he offered when it came time for the job to be done the gentleman had years of experience with cabinets alone and they were as excited about the color we chose Brian stopped in to make sure everything was going smoothly and we were so pleased with the final outcome another nominator said Brian should be the business person of the year due to his outstanding contributions as a highly skilled professional in the field his exceptional work in both residential and Commercial settings handling projects of varing sizes both big and small and has consistently left customers extremely happy his clients have repeatedly sought out his expertise for additional projects someone else wrote Beyond his professional Endeavors Brian alongside with his alongside his beautiful wife Aaron actively engaged with the community they give back a percentage of their earnings to children in need their commitment to community involvement adds another layer to their commendable work I firmly believe that Brian and Aaron deserve recognition for for their dedicated efforts and positive impact and finally one other nominator said who better to nominate Brian dama than the person who sees the full Merit of day-to-day business and in life I see the way Brian treats our customers after he hangs up the phone or when he leaves their presence his attitude is always appreciation and respect for every person that has or has not done business with our company he gives customers the benefit of the doubt and blesses them beyond what they have written on a contract please join me and congratulate Brian dama [Applause] did you want to say something oh you can you don't have to go too long oh won be don't worry hey how is everybody just wanted to say thank you um feel honored and blessed you know it's it's nice to do what you do when you love it um and I honestly couldn't do this without our employees our team and more importantly the coowner of brush Masters my best friend my beautiful wife if Aaron can get a round of applause too I greatly appreciate it thank you our nonprofit organization of the year goes to the coment cape Atlantic YMCA of Island the YMCA is a nonprofit charitable organization that is part of a worldwide Association based on Christian principles inclusive of all people dedicated to fostering opportunities for all individuals families and communities through programs that build healthy Spirit mind and body for all the Y is a powerful Association of men women and children of all ages from all walks of life joined together by a shared passion to strengthen the foundations of our community they believe that lasting personal and social change can only come about when we all work together to invest in our kids our health and our neighbors they focus their work in three areas Youth Development healthy living and social responsibility the multitude of programs activities and events they offer to support these three areas would take me all night to go through it's truly staggering and so impressive what they accomplish and offer through outstanding youth engagement holistic youth programs summer camps nutritional initiatives as well as general fitness and health they exhibit a strong community outreach and support as displayed in their blessed forward program during the holiday season this YMCA has been a fixture in the violent Community for 95 years this is a testament to their enduring commitment to their mission please join me in celebrating the cumber and Cape Atlantic YMC advine as our nonprofit organization of the [Applause] year and if you haven't been introduced this is their new CEO [Applause] good evening everyone um thank you for this opportunity and um thank you to the chamber for the recognition and um as she said I'm the new CEO my name is John Antonelli um three weeks in so I already won an award so I feel good about that so um I really want to recognize a few people one is if you do not know I hope most of you know George steinbron who could not be here tonight um he spent 27 years as the CEO of this organization um that's a tremendous accomplishment what he's been able to achieve there um this is part of his legacy and I'm very proud to accept this on his behalf because really he should be up here accepting this so um if you know George if you don't mind texting him congratulating him on his retirement and um thanking him for his 27 years the service to this community in vinent um I'm sure he would appreciate that if you didn't already um the second group I want to recognize though is the staff of the vinent YMCA so if I could have you stand please quickly so I I get to go to work every day work with these beautiful hardworking ladies so I'm going to thank George for that um they do a tremendous job there and the last group I do want to recognize is our board if you're a board member please stand um these individuals they they give they give their time and treasure to the why because they believe in the mission they believe in the cause and they believe in serving their community so I can't thank them enough for for all that they do um because without them you know that why doesn't exist uh they really are the driving force behind it and I'm proud to work for them and I'm proud to hopefully another 27 years so um thank [Applause] you thank [Applause] you we are pleased to present a new award this year named the mayor's Economic Development award we offer the opportunity for mayor fuci and Vin's Economic Development Office to select the recipient of this award and presented this evening we are very pleased in their selection to honor the lavari brothers realy company First Choice freezer and cold storage please welcome Sandy poris a violence economic development director to present the award first Mike you know the mayor would be here um he regrets that he couldn't but due to circumstances Beyond his controlling cting so you got me um when Dawn reached out to the mayor and me uh about this new award um for economic development it it took all about two seconds for the mayor and I to say well we know who we have to give this to um Mike lavari I when my my cell phone rings and it says Mike lavari I'm like oh what is he up to now um his journey with the city started back in 2001 when he purchased um ater cold storage at uh 3 uh 96 mil Road it's um just south of almond Road um and that's where he started he bought about um uh 1,000 uh 10,000 110,000 Square ft of cold storage and then in 2007 he did a 28,000 ft addition which is good then in 2014 he added another 75,000 Square ft then in 2017 he added another 65,000 Square ft um so now we're at capacity at this little uh corner here uh he's about at 300 th000 Square ft and he wants to add again and we're like Mike yeah there's no room there's no room for you to add um but the city we have some property at Oak and Mill um we hadn't developed it yet it was woods around the the Blue Hole sand wash if you're familiar with it and we said look we got a nice 10 Acre Corner you know why don't why don't you buy that it's right down the street so um he did um and he he start in 2018 he built 65,000 Square ft and then the following year he added another 110,000 Square ft so now I have a little bit of land behind him and he says oh Sandy I want that land too okay um now Reni snuck in before he could buy all the land so we have ranat but he said don't sell that land and so then in 20 21 he built another 100,000 square ft and in 2022 he built yet another 100,000 square ft then he calls me and says hey what are you doing with that blue hole behind my property I said well we don't know it's open space we can't develop it it's I want it I want it for recreation I was like okay well we have no use for it you want to maintain it we you know went through the process and we sold them the blueo so now Mike doesn't let any land go to waste he still had a corner on almond and Mill it couldn't support Another Cold Storage so he built a 6300 yeah 6,300 square foot off this building which is now his headquarters very beautiful on the corner so now he's looking for more land I said M I'm out of land I'm looking for land I'm out of land I'm really yeah out of money so then he contacts the neighbor across the street on the east side of Bill Road and he buys another 15 Acres that we had recently zoned industrial and he's in the process of building what another 150,000 Square fet so he's in the process of building another 50,000 I want you to know Mike is one of our top Electric utility um customers he's created more ratables as you can see for the city in in the last five or six years I don't think anybody matches him with that and you're the biggest contributor to our affordable trust fund on those coopes he just loves those COA fees but we're doing a lot of affordable housing with thanks to Mike so I think you get the picture why it was an easy choice to make Mike lavari the recipient of this Economic Development award um he's like the Energizer Bunny you just he just keeps going and going um congratulations [Applause] Mike we'll get your picture first I was trying to add up all those acres and square feet and I lost track all right congratulations before we present our last two Awards let's play some more door PR trivia so Cathy all right this this door prize sponsor is Wells Fargo advisor Donna Perez and we have a nice door prize so I'll pull the first ticket and 615 375 oh okay three Zod so here's the question what is the recognizable icon of Wells Fargo since the company began in 1852 is it a [Music] pineapple a lion or a stage coach Stage Coach ah very good it's a stage coach thank you wel and thank you to Bay Atlanta Credit Union as well for sponsoring those door prizes I am pleased to present our volunteer of the Year award to Mr Mike Tuscano of mince insurance and our first vice president of the board Mike joined our board in 2020 and to say jumped in the deep end of the pool immediately is an understatement in the past four years he's attended almost every board meeting and every event we've hosted he serves on our Partnerships and recognition committee which he is now leading as the chairperson and he's always offering really creative and highly successful ideas that support our members yes putting my base out there every few months on those little support local campaigns was Mike's idea Min insurance is also a valuable supporter of the violent chamber through a multitude of sponsorship commitments and being a consistent Advertiser in our newsletter after serving three years on the board Mike volunteered to step into the executive role and serve as our second vice president and he will become the next president in June 2026 Mike is not only dedicated to our mission and active he goes above and Beyond he arrives early and stays late at all of our events to help me out he's even become an expert at working the registration table we are so appreciative of everything Mike Tuscano does for this organization and that's why he is our volunteer of the Year thank you um if I could have all the board um come off to my left real quick so I volunteered my 20 minute speech to do something special so she kind of CH da challenged me in front of the exec that I didn't have anything to do tonight so I figured I'd come up something real quick to get done tonight and I want to thank Stacy and Jason for giving me the opportunity to uh to do this so if I could just have everybody stand there and I'm going to introduce everybody to excuse me arvine Kilby from tesa's office to do something very special to for us so please everybody welcome good evening everyone for those of you who don't know me I'm the constituent Services director and sometimes chief of staff for Senator Michael Tesa also with the assemblyman Antoine mlen and Eric Simonson we were very proud of the recipients this year and did provide a citation and recommendation to each one of them but there was one more recognition that they wanted to present Senator Tesa could not be here tonight because his daughter is graduating from the eighth grade so with that being said I have very honored to represent Senator Tesa assemblyman mlen and assemblyman Simonson to be able to make this presentation last year there was an ex very prestigious award provided by the State Chamber of Commerce for the first time ever and what they did was present an honor for the alliance partner of the Year and that award was given to our executive director Don Hunter [Applause] when you have an honor that is given to you by the State Chamber of Commerce that's a high high recognition not only because of the work that's done but it's to this entire chamber and with her leadership it has been recognized Statewide what I have before me is what's called a ceremonial resolution it comes from Senator Tesa and the assemblyman but it is signed by the Senate President scari and assembly leader coflin I would like to take a few moments to read this because it is very very special and I'm very pleased to be able to present this to Dawn whereas Don Hunter the highly esteemed executive director of the greater violent Chamber of Commerce has secured distinction from the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce as the alliance partner of the Year whereas the Senate and general assembly of the state of New Jersey are pleased to acknowledge Don Hunter upon this felicitous occasion which Bears witness to the faithful allegiance that she has demonstrated as a steadfast member of the New Jersey Chamber Alliance Coalition a wholly committed group of State Chamber Executives who St to find new and innovative ways to make this state a better place to live and to work whereas an illustrious graduate of the Eastern Nazarene College who has led the greater vinin chamber as its executive director since 2010 Don Hunter has secured a sterling reputation for her benevolent Endeavors in service to her community and she is widely admired for the immeasurable contributions that she has made as a member of the Cape May Cumberland and Salem counties Workforce Development board the Rowan College of South Jersey entrepreneur advisory committee the violin downtown improvement district the green committee and the rotary club's marketing and promotions committee where do you find time I don't know among many other roles that she has assumed in furtherance of a robust and prosperous City rightfully proud of her membership within the Independence Hall chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Don Hunter is deeply appreciative of her exemplary leaders leadership as the eminent chair of the American 250 committee currently tasked with planning the celebration commemorating our nation's semi Quint Cal in 2026 whereas this is going to end in just a little bit whereas by her deeds and through her example Don Hunter has provided a model of excellence in achievement and dedication and in so doing she has established a model to emulate and to set a standard of Excellence toward which all others might strive now and therefore be resolved by the state and the general assembly of the state of New Jersey that this legislature hereby salutes Don Hunter pays tribute to her notorious record of accomplishments and extends the sincere best wishes for continued success in all of her days to come be a further resolve that a duly authenticated copy of this resolution signed by Senate President and the assembly speaker and attested to by the Senate secretary and assembly clerk will be transmitted to Dawn [Applause] so pleased to be able to present it to you would you like to see a few words I never shy away from the microphone right um I am so honored this this is amazing and I want to thank my board for surprising me with it um I never imagined uh this would be something you do or anything I don't know what to say except that I wish my mom was here um she passed away in February and um she was always my biggest cheerleader and I know she'd be really really proud um as she always was so thank you so much for this honor thank you all right okay all right you can do it everybody I got you okay last but definitely not least is our inaugural Donnie award this is another example of Mike's creativity as he suggested this award this year year I was in agreement immediately because who wouldn't want to like give out their own award for any reason to any person I didn't have to think hard at all to know that Denise Jackson of the Cumberland empowerment Zone was my choice for this year's Donnie award Denise and I met 14 years ago when I was hired and she was running the Urban Enterprise Zone Program for milville and violin they were a tenant in our chamber building from the very beginning she was so supportive of our organization and was a tremendous partner to us Denise is one of the biggest cheerleaders in everything we do and help us spread the message of why it's important to belong to the violent chamber her commitment to supporting us has never wavered as she moved on in her career and now we have come full circle and she is again our tenant in the building and she's running the Cumberland empowerment Zone Denise and Shirley are truly perfect tenants they are always willing to help out in any way including finding Denise shoveling snow off the steps and Shirley cleaning the boardroom Denise has a huge Generous Heart Is quick to laugh and is always seeing the glass half full I am so proud to have her as a very good friend for all these years please join me in celebrating Denise Jackson with our first Donnie award I [Applause] while this concludes our presentation of the awards I have one last announcement for you we have a very special event planned for September that I want you to know about it's highlighted on page 7 of the program book in partnership with the violent historical and antiquarian Society we will be hosting a 2-day women of violent event this is a celebration of the 172 women who courageously decided to vote in the presidential election of 1868 did you know that this took place in Finland did you know that four of those 1722 women were black in 1868 so join us for this event as we host a voting reenactment on September 27th and 28 and a celebration reception on September 28th honoring those women and celebrating our women-owned businesses of today so look for more details coming very soon I hope you enjoyed yourself this evening and it was fun and you had a good time so please stay and continue to network if you'd like to and enjoy yourselves and thank you so much for coming this evening congratulations at mince Insurance we're proud to have been serving our customers for nearly 80 years offering 30 different Insurance products for your auto home and Business and to help ensure that you're getting the best rates possible possible we give you up to three quotes for every policy so you can choose what's right for you at mints we're part of the community local Representatives supporting events and proud of it it's part of who we are mince Insurance call today and find out how we can help you save on insurance or visit us at mince insurance.com I'm mayor Anthony fucci if you're looking for the right location think vinand New Jersey our Pro business approach is supported by Financial incentives Workforce Development programs and other resources which can give your business a Competitive Edge whether you're starting a new business or expanding the new markets our business environment infrastructure accessibility and quality of life make violent an ideal location more information about how we can help your business grow can be found at Violent city.org vinand New Jersey where it's always growing season when life gives you [Music] lemons make lemonade [Music] there's only one person who can truly change tartness into sweetness bitterness into happiness his name is Jesus Christ we can introduce you to him this Sunday then you'll understand his instruction manual New Life Church milville New Jersey many people treat their health like a game with Complete Care Health Network it's easy to start your Healthcare Journey just select from our specialties and schedule online by phone or on our app our entire team communicates with one another so everyone works together on your Total Health Plus we make it even easier with all of these additional benefits level up your health with us Complete Care Health Network no gains just great health care for everyone at mince Insurance we're proud to have been serving our customers for nearly 80 years offering 30 different Insurance products for your auto home and Business and to help Ensure that you're getting the best rates possible we give you up to three quotes for every policy so you can choose what's right for you at mince we're part of the community local Representatives supporting events and proud of it it's part of who we are mince Insurance call today and find out how we can help you save on insurance or visit us at mince insurance.com I'm mayor Anthony fucci if you're looking for the right location think vinand New Jersey our Pro business approach is supported by Financial incentives Workforce Development programs and other resources which can give your business a Competitive Edge whether you're starting a new business or expanding the new markets our business environment infrastructure accessibility and quality of life make violent an ideal location more information about how we can help your business grow can be found at Violent city.org vinand New Jersey where it's always growing season when life gives you lemons [Music] make [Music] lemonade there's only one person who can truly change tartness into sweetness bitterness into happiness his name is Jesus Christ we can introduce you to him this Sunday then you'll understand his instruction manual New Life Church milville New Jersey many this has been a QBC television production in association with our partners and sponsors QBC broadcasts on Comcast cable channel 22 and live streams it's programming on Facebook and YouTube All Rights Reserved by Quinn media and QBC programming that serves the South Jersey Market