SACC and Wicomico County Parks, Recreation and Tourism Host Annual Awards

The 101st Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Luncheon was a celebration of the individual, business, and organizational achievements of 2021.

An audience of nearly two hundred attended the awards ceremony on October 27, 2021, at the Wicomico Civic Center in the Normandy Arena.

SACC President/CEO Bill Chambers noted to the audience, “This is the largest attended awards celebration hosted by the Chamber in more than twenty-five years and we are so happy the spend this time together, in person!”

WBOC Sports Director Zach Parnes was once again the Master of Ceremonies for the event.

The event kicked off with a delicious buffet lunch, followed by Wicomico County Parks, Recreation and Tourism Director Steve Miller presenting awards to Partner of the Year Trent Swanson, Algonquin Ultras; Business of the Year Award to Eryn Casaleno of The Greene Turtle; and the Hospitality Award to Cindy Curran of Whitehaven Hotel.

Following the Tourism Awards, MC Zach Parnes began the SACC portion of the ceremonies.

The first Award was for the Chamber Volunteer of the Year. This Award was sponsored by TidalHealth and was presented to Alexis Roskovich. Alexis is the SACC Young Professionals Co-Chair and also a member of the SACC Board of Directors.

The Chamber Ambassador of the Year was given to Catherine “Cat” Curran of A+ Clean Out & Junk Removal and The Angry Axe & Rage Room, LLC. The award was presented by Sandy Fitzgerald-Angello, Pohanka of Salisbury.

Small Business of the Year presented to Vicente Hernandez of Together Café in Salisbury presented by Brandon Havas, BBSI.

Chris Davis, NAI Coastal accepted the Large Business of the Year award, presented by Stephanie Willey, Effectv.

Jared Shelton accepted the Large Business of the Year Award, presented to Chesapeake Utilities by Dr. Christy Weer, board member of award sponsor Salisbury Wicomico Economic Development.

The 2021 SACC Business Professional of the Year went to Phillips Seafoods Senior VP and co-owner of Southern Boys Concepts, John Knorr. This award was sponsored by the Franklin Perdue School of Business and presented by Dr. Christy Weer.

Delmarva Power was awarded the Environmental Service Award, presented to Grant Parker by Cheryl Fearn of Bancroft Construction.

Far Nasir and Jennifer Feindt accepted the Agriculture Ambassador of the Year Award on behalf of The Delmarva Chicken Association. The award was presented by Brenda Galgano of Perdue Farms.

The Non-Profit Organization of the Year Award was presented by John Petito of Delmarva Power to Captain Matt Trantham of The Salvation Army Lower Eastern Shore.

New in 2021 was the COVID Community Champion. This award recognizes an individual, organization, or business that championed significant impacts throughout the pandemic which contributed to assisting businesses, impacts on public health, safety, and education.

The COVID Community Champion Award was sponsored by 47abc and presented to TidalHealth and the Wicomico County Health Department.

The Chamber Hall of Fame Award is not an annual award. This year, three individuals entered the Hall of Fame. Dr. Heidi Anderson, President of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Dr. Ray Hoy, President of Wor-Wic College, and Dr. Charles Wight, President of Salisbury University.

All three were recognized for their leadership, courage, conviction to higher education, grit, and determination in their unwavering battle at each institution to continue in-person education while protecting the health and safety of their students, faculty, and staff during this unprecedented health crisis, COVID-19.

Salisbury University President Charles Wight commented, “All three of us worked together during the pandemic to share best practices in keeping our institutions open while recognizing that safety was of paramount importance.”

Both Dr. Heidi Anderson and Dr. Ray Hoy concurred with Anderson adding, “All of this hard work paid off to the benefit of our students.”

The Hall of Fame Award was sponsored by the Wicomico County Education Foundation.

Congratulations to all of this year’s awards winners and a special thank you to the SACC members, the sponsors, and all those who attended to celebrate these outstanding individuals, businesses, and organizations.

A big round of applause to all of the 2021 SACC Annual Award winners! The SACC was pleased to honor these deserving individuals, member businesses, and community organizations. The award winners also received personal congratulations from MD Senators Mary Beth Carozza and Adelaide Eckardt.