GSA Daily Staff Report
Published Jan. 29, 2010

Last night the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce held its 121st Annual Meeting, including its annual awards presentation. The event featured keynote speaker Danny Morrison, president of the Carolina Panthers, and the naming of WYFF-TV’s Mike Hayes as the 2010 board chairman.

The Small Business of the Year Award was presented to Graphic Cow. This is the 33rd year in which the chamber has recognized the spirit of entrepreneurship by presenting the Small Business of the Year Award.

The Minority Business of the Year Award is presented to a local independently and minority-owned company that has been in business for a minimum of three years. The 2009 award was presented to Bunty LLC.

The Young Professional of the Year Award is designed to recognize an individual between the ages of 22 and 39 for her involvement in the community. The 2009 award was presented to Melinda Davis Lux of Wyche Burgess Freeman & Parham PA.

The Arts Leadership Award was created this year to recognize exemplary leadership in promoting and advocating the arts on behalf of the Greenville community. The award will be presented to an artist, philanthropist, arts executive, volunteer or corporation each year. Alan Ethridge, executive director of the Metropolitan Arts Council, received the award last night.

The 2009 Athena Award was presented to Minor Shaw, owner of Micco Corp. The award honors individuals who assist women in reaching their full leadership potential; demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession; and provide valuable service by devoting time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community.

The Max Heller Neighborhood Improvement Award is given annually to an organization that has shown exemplary efforts toward neighborhood improvement and empowerment. The 2009 award was presented to Homes of Hope. Don Oglesby, president and CEO of Homes of Hope, was on hand to accept the award.

In a special award category the chamber recognized two departing Clemson University leaders for their contributions to the economic advancement of Greenville. The Special Chairman’s Award for Education in Business was presented to Caron St. John, professor and director of the Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Clemson University, and Chris Przirembel, Clemson’s vice president of research and economic development.

St. John is leaving later this spring to become the dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Alabama Huntsville. Przirembel is retiring.

The annual Chairman’s Award recognizes one outstanding individual for his or her leadership and dedication to the Greenville chamber. The 2009 Chairman’s Award was presented to Frank Wingate of The Palmetto Bank.

The Buck Mickel Leadership Award is given to an individual who has personally or under the auspices of a business had a dramatic impact on the community by playing a leadership role in solving critical community issues, strengthening the community or providing visionary leadership to a major community development project. The 2009 award was presented to Bob Hughes of Hughes Development.

Justin Williams of Sharp Business Systems received the Ambassador of the Year Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the chamber’s retention efforts by conducting personal visits with members to discuss their business needs and participation in chamber activities.