The Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce presented five business awards during the Chamber’s dinner gala and silent auction Thursday night, including a group of student entrepreneurs from Barrington High School. For the first time ever, the Chamber presented a Young Entrepreneurs Award, bringing fresh new faces to this annual gathering of of local business professionals.
The purpose of the Chamber’s annual gala is to celebrate member accomplishments over the past year. Nearly 200 local business, community and government leaders attended the gala at the Stonegate Conference and Banquet Center. The evening featured dinner, musical entertainment, a silent auction and a great opportunity to connect and network with local business leaders.
The Chamber’s first Young Entrepreneurs Award was presented to Find My Bus (FMB) Technology founders Sanjit Narendra, Connor Boundy, Luke Nilles, Massimo Guhde and Jack Lenihan. FMB is one of the five student businesses that received funding during the inaugural year of Barrington High School’s IncubatorEDU business startup curriculum.
Find My Bus Technology is a service that allows parents and students to see where their school bus is at any time of the day. They also provide analytical and statistical data to the bus company and school district to improve efficiency of both parties. 365BarringtonTV reporter, Catherine Goetze, featured FMB Technology in this video report which we published in 2014…
The Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) awarded the 2015 Leadership Award to Charlotte Neault of Barrington Bank & Trust, N.A. The award honors a dedicated Chamber member who has served, led and guided the organization, been involved in a variety of activities, and set an example of distinguished leadership. Neault served as the BACC Chairman for the past year and a half, and will continue to serve as Past Chairman during 2015.
“Char Neault provided the rock solid foundation needed to steer BACC into a new era of leadership and vision. She has been a forceful and diligent, yet graceful and professional leader,” said newly elected BACC Chairman Lisa Caputo of Morgan Stanley – The Schirmann Group. “Char has worked tirelessly to advance the strength and impact of the Chamber. She is a master at navigating the challenging, and directing and motivating hercolleagues. Char brings out the best in people and she exemplifies the best of the Chamber,” Caputo said.
The BACC Business Excellence Award was presented to Deborah Leydig ofNorton’s U.S.A. This award honors a Barrington-area business that goes above and beyond the norm to achieve real results, having a positive impact on the local business economy and setting the bar high for service to the community.
“Norton’s only sells products made in the USA to keep America strong. Deborah Leydig is a dynamic example of the spirit and entrepreneurialism that make the Barrington area stand out,” Caputo said. “Her ‘buy American’ strategy is keeping jobs across America. Locally, she is a creative, passionate and encouraging voice for Barrington merchants, and a dedicated community champion,” Caputo said.
Next, the Chamber presented the Volunteer of the Year Award. This award honors a Chamber member who has given unselfishly, contributing to the overall success of the Chamber through their active participation and ongoing support. The award was presented to Dennis Kelly of FGMK Insurance Agency.
“Dennis Kelly is a regular face at Chamber events. This year he attended a majority of our mixers, ribbon cuttings, scrambles and other special events – in fact it would be difficult to think of an event he did not attend!” Caputo said. “Everywhere Dennis goes he is a staunch supporter and believer in the value and benefit of the BACC mission.”
Then, the BACC Rookie of the Year Award was presented. This award honors a new Chamber member who has recently joined the Chamber and become involved with vigor and passion, bringing new energy to the organization and showing the value of the BACC experience. The award was given to Jason Tennyson of Liberty Mutual.
“Jason came on board with a single mission in mind, ‘how can I help others?’,” Caputo said.
The Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce also uses their annual gala as an opportunity to swear in the organization’s new board of directors. I am among the returning directors for 2015 and, this year, I’ll be stepping up to a role on the Chamber’s Executive Board.
About the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce
Founded in 1969, the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce is an association of 800+ member businesses representing more than 18,000 business people dedicated to the prosperity of the 11 communities it serves: Barrington, Barrington Hills, Deer Park, Inverness, Kildeer, Lake Barrington, Long Grove, North Barrington, Port Barrington, South Barrington and Tower Lakes. The BACC promotes economic opportunities, advocates for business interests, offers professional development programs, and works to foster a robust regional economy.
To learn more about the Chamber’s mission and for the list of all Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce members, visit BarringtonChamber.com/list.
