Ilsa Minor | Daily Press
Nicholas R. Bink, general manager of Bink’s Coca Cola, speaks while accepting the Business of the Year Award at the Delta County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Thursday. For more coverage of the event, see page 7A.
HARRIS — The sound of music filled the conference center at the Island Resort and Casino Thursday during the annual Delta County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner. This year’s theme was a tribute to the Escanaba City Band, which celebrated its 100th season this summer.
Following introductory remarks, the evening kicked off with Daily Press Editor Brian Rowell presented the Outstanding Delta Force Alum Award to Vicki Griggs, entertainment manager at the Island Resort and Casino, who graduated from the Delta Force Leadership Program 12 years prior.
“I don’t think of myself as an Anything-of-the-Year kind of gal. I do what I do because it’s what’s needed, it’s what’s called for, or it’s just … fun,” said Griggs, explaining she was surprised to be nominated for the honor.
Following a brief business meeting of the Delta County Chamber of Commerce Board — during which, the new board of directors was sworn in — the attention pivoted to the most recent class of the Delta Force Leadership Program, which gathers individuals together to learn about the ins and outs of Delta County’s government, media, community and businesses. A short graduation ceremony for the 2024 Delta Force class was officiated by Senator Ed McBroom and featured a speech by Kerry Getzloff.
“If I have learned one thing in this program it’s that it takes a village. This program has ignited a passion within me to be more involved in my community. I have always found joy in helping others and this program opened my eyes to many opportunities for service in Delta County,” said Getzloff of the program.
Following the ceremony, dinner was served and the awards program began.
The first award of the evening was the Athena Award, which recognizes someone who has demonstrated professional excellence, exceptional leadership, and a deep commitment to advancing women. This year, the award was presented by past award recipient Caren Crawford to Brenda Lippens, President of Embers Credit Union, who was anonymously nominated for the award and has served on the Chamber Board for about 20 years.
“I am truly, truly humbled,” said Lippens who only learned she was receiving the award a few hours prior to the dinner.
The next award was the Educational Excellence Award, presented by Delta-Schoolcraft ISD Doug Leisenring and sponsored by the Community Foundation for Delta County. This year’s recipient was Lori Neurohr, elementary principal for Gladstone Area Schools.
“Teaching has always been more than a profession to me. It’s really a calling. Everyday I walk not my classroom with one goal in mind: to connect with my students, not just as learners, but as individuals,” she said.
Next came the Community Ambassador Award, sponsored by Billerud and presented by Billerud Health and Safety Director Pam Versailles. The award was presented to novelist J.L. Hyde for her series of “Delta County” novels.
“I have spent an entire year being so thankful to be back in the place where I was raised. In the last year since I’ve been home, my creativity has been off the charts. I’ve published three books in the year that I’ve been home just because this place inspires me so much,” said Hyde.
The next award was a first for the Chamber. The Non-Profit of the Year Award, sponsored by Radio Results Network and presented by RRN General Manager Jesse Huff, was presented to the Community Foundation for Delta County.
“We will do our best to continue, get stronger, get better, get bigger, and help more,” said Community Foundation for Delta County Executive Director Cheryl Andzejewski, who noted the foundation’s goal was to help the community every single day.
This year’s Business Partner of the Year Award was presented to three separate entities who stepped up to address a catastrophic power failure that took place during the Upper Peninsula State Fair: Sunbelt Rentals, the city of Escanaba, and Freedom Electric. Accepting the awards were Tom Wagner and Marco Velasco of Sunbelt Rentals, Escanaba City Manager Jim McNeil, and Rob and Ali Leveille of Freedom Electric.
Sunbelt Rentals provided a wide variety of equipment for the fair, including cooling equipment for livestock barns and high voltage generators during the power outage. The city’s electrical department was onsite within minutes of the outage and, with the help of Freedom Electric, isolated the issue and prevented it from spreading.
This year’s Century Award, which is presented to a business or organization that has been a fixture of the community for 100 years, was given to the Escanaba City Band. Band conductors Bruce Cassell and Joe Hellberg accepted the award, presented by the Delta County EDA and Upper Peninsula Michigan Works!
“It takes people to make this thing last for 100 years, and behalf of all the people that came before me and all the people that are going to be coming after us, we accept this and say thank you,” said Cassell.
The final ward of the night was the Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! The award was presented to Bink’s Coca Cola and accepted by Nicholas R. Bink, general manager, who credited the award to both his father’s dedication to the business and the staff of Bink’s.
“When we have that type of culture where we have enough people that really care about each other and they care about our customers, then we have a chance,” he said.