POTSDAM – More than 200 people gathered at the Stables at Windy Point Wednesday night for the chamber’s annual dinner. The event included several awards to businesses and remarks on the work of the chamber.

Chamber Executive Director Ben Dixon gave a Late Show-style “Top Ten Highlights of the Chamber’s Year” in his remarks.

Highlights included the relaunch of the St. Lawrence Leadership Institute, monthly business networking events, website engagement growth, several chamber tradeshows and conferences, membership growth, business ownership transitions, a multitude of tourism initiatives, staff additions, and integration of the St. Lawrence County, Canton, Massena, and Ogdensburg Chambers of Commerce.

“We have another exciting year ahead, as we continue to increase our capacity, our impact, and our role in the vitality of St. Lawrence County,” concluded Dixon. “We look forward to what the year ahead will bring and are glad you are with us for this adventure.”

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Representatives of Coakley Home and Hardware accept the 2023 Customer Service Excellence Award at the Annual Dinner of the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. Pictured are (l to r): Agnes White, Diane Cullen, and Bill Coakley of Coakley Home and Hardware with Ben Dixon, Chamber Executive Director. Photo submitted.

The night was highlighted by three annual award recognitions:

• The Customer Service Excellence award, established to recognize a chamber business that has provided extraordinary service in their delivery of products and services to their customers, was presented to Coakley Home and Hardware.

• The Local Producer of the Year award honored Adirondack Fragrance and Flavor Farm of Parishville. This award is for a chamber producer that has developed their capacity for creating and selling a product that is handmade, locally sourced or value added, raising awareness and pride for local products.

• The prestigious Business of the Year award recognizes a business that has contributed to the growth of the St. Lawrence County economy and brings pride to the business community. This year’s recipient was Atlantic Testing Laboratories, a Canton-based, full-service engineering support firm, consisting of eleven offices located throughout New York State that provide services in the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest region of the United States.

• Brooke Rouse, the out-going Director of Tourism and past Executive Director, was honored with the Chamber’s first “Cornerstone Award” in recognition of her foundational contributions to the Chamber and St. Lawrence County and for spreading a vision of harnessing the beauty and potential of our region that could be built upon by others.

The dinner also featured a Happy Hour sponsored by Northern Insuring Agency and NBT Bank, with music by John Danis.

The Stables at Windy Point sponsored a ‘red carpet’ for photos.

The dinner was catered by Bacon Brothers BBQ with desserts from Sugar Valley Bakery.

The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce is a 450-member organization also serving as the County’s official Tourism Promotion Agent. To learn more, contact 315-386-4000 or visit www.SLCchamber.org