Chamber Announces Business of the Year Award Winners
MERRITT ISLAND, FL - The Better Business Development Council of the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce presented its Business of the Year Awards to eight (8) area companies at its 20th Annual Ceremony on Friday, September 5th, at the Cocoa Village Playhouse, Cocoa.
Over 200 chamber partners, their families and friends regaled in the event’s theme “Idolizing the Best in Brevard”. Hosted by Brian Hawkins, Regions Bank and Julie Clover, Community Educators Credit Union, the program included live entertainment by American Idol finalist Robbie Carrico, Cocoa Village Playhouse, Dorothy Gal and The Ten Tones of Satellite Beach High School. All nominees for the awards were recognized. Representatives of the ceremonies major sponsors made presentations to the winners.
Winners in eight business-size categories were:
Minority Owned (25 & Under Employees) – Aquatic Health & Rehab;
Minority Owned (Over 25 Employees) – Craig Technologies;
Non-For-Profit (25 & Under Employees) - LEAD Brevard;
Non-For-Profit (Over 25 Employees) - Community Educators Credit Union;
Service Industry (25 & Under Employees) – Space Coast Business Media Group;
Service Industry (Over 25 Employees) – Regions Bank;
Technical/Manufacturing (25 & Under Employees) – Creative Network Innovations
Technical/Manufacturing (Over 25 Employees) - Symetrics.
Chairperson Julie Clover of Community Educators Credit Union extended her thanks and appreciation to all of the committee members and chamber staff who helped to make the evening a success. “It took a lot of hard work by several dedicated people to not only organize the ceremony, but to compile the nominations, evaluate the entries and make the difficult determination as to which companies would receive the honor of ‘business of the year’. In light of the outstanding organizations that were nominated, choosing only two per category was not easy; they were all winners!” she said.
Special thanks to this year’s panel of judges that included Bill Cunneen, Service Corp of Retired Executives (S.C.O.R.E.); Bill Cunningham, Business Advisors, Inc.; Julie Song, Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast; John Stivers, Professional Business Brokers, Inc.; and Chester J. Straub, Jr., Technical Research & Development Authority (TRDA).
Platinum sponsors of this event were Bob O’Connell’s Rental & Theme Centre, Cocoa Village Playhouse, Community Educators Credit Union, PIP Printing & Marketing Services, Progressive Document Destruction, and Rob Carrico Painting. Gold sponsors were Focused Light Engraving, Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort, Island Boat Lines & Indian River Queen, Perrone Properties, Prime Bank, Regions Bank, and Space Coast Business Media Group, LLC. Silver Sponsors were Coalition for the Hungry & Homeless of Brevard, Harmony Farms, Sansom Group/Dixie Sansom Consulting, Symetrics Industries, LLC and U First Financial. Food Sponsors were Captain Hiram’s Resort, DoubleTree Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Hotel, Hibiscus Catering Services, Hula Girl Café, Murdock’s Bistro & Char Bar, TF Onion Deli and Uno Chicago Grill.
The Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce was established in 1968 and serves Cape Canaveral, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Patrick Air Force Base, Port St. John, Rockledge, Suntree and Viera.
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Bill Frederick, PIP Printing & Document Service (right) presents Terry Shepherd, Aquatic Health & Rehab the Minority Owned (25 & Under Employees) Award. |
Karen DeLeo, Fidelity Land Title & Escrow (right) presents Carey Beam, Craig Technologies the Minority Owned (Over 25 Employees) Award. |
Tiffany Johnson, Progressive Document Destruction (right) presents Kristin Bakke, LEAD Brevard the Non-For-Profit (25 & Under Employees) Award. |
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Mike Nunez, representing Rob Carrico Painting (left) presents Sara Stern, Community Educators Credit Union the Non-For-Profit (Over 25 Employees) Award. |
Staci Hawkins-Smith, Cocoa Village Playhouse (left) presents Jeff Piersall, Space Coast Business Media Group the Service Industry (25 & Under Employees) Awards. |
Sara Stern, Community Educators Credit Union (left) presents Susan Averill, Regions Bank the Service Industry (Over 25 Employees) Award. |
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Doug Sharpe, Bob O'Connell's Rental & Theme Centre (left) presents Tom Farhat, Creative Network Innovations the Technical/Manufacturing (25 & Under Employees) Award. |
Troy Atwood, Focused Light Engraving (right) presents Jerry Sinclair, Symetrics Industries, LLC the Technical/Manufacturing (Over 25 Employees) Award. |
