BY BILL SHUMWAY
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — Convenience store operator and home heating oil delivery provider Kunoco was honored Wednesday night as “Business of the Year” by the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.

Founders Steve and Jacquie Kuno were recognized for Kunoco’s “contribution to the growth of the St. Lawrence County community,” chamber board member Michelle Quinnell-Gayle told the more than 200 attending the organizations’s annual dinner.

In accepting the award, Steve Kuno noted the firm has “continuously reinvested” and strives to be “be responsive to the needs” of the North Country.

The firm operates convenience stores in Canton, Russell, Colton and Parishville and also provides home heating oil delivery.

In addressing the crowd at The Stables at Windy Point, Kuno noted it has been “a long ride” since the firm was founded in 1990 with one used fuel truck. The firm has grown significantly, employing up to 100 employees over the years.

“We could not have done it without the staff,” he said, adding they are “great, great people that cared.”

He introduced the next generation of leadership at Kunoco, his daughter Courtney and her husband, Ben Burds.

Also recognized at the event were NBT Bank, which received the “Customer Service Excellence Award” and Lionheart Graphics, which was honored with the “Producer of the Year Award.”

NBT operates branches in Potsdam, Canton, Ogdensburg and Massena, and was cited for extraordinary service and staff who are “very accessible.”

Lionheart, owned by Catherine LaPointe Vollmer, creates travel posters, pastels and other artworks. She was recognized for “creating handmade, locally sourced value-added products,” said chamber board member Kelly Chezum in presenting the award.

Earlier, chamber Executive Director Ben Dixon said the organization has become increasingly busy working to increase and improve the local economy.

The “Invest in St. Lawrence County” initiative is encouraging former residents to relocate or retire back to St. Lawrence County, or to buy or start a business in the area.

Dixon said the chamber is also focusing on “workforce development” in the county because it is a “major issue everybody is facing.”

Going forward, the chamber expects the merger of the Canton, Massena and Ogdensburg chambers into the county chamber will be completed in 2023, he said. By combining resources and talents, the combined, regional chamber will result in “more boots on the ground.”

The mission of the chamber is to “cultivate, develop and support Chamber members and other businesses by creating a vibrant business climate that encourages growth and enhances the unique quality of life in St. Lawrence County.”