The Washington County Small Business of the Year Awards took place yesterday at Rainer's Gourmet Inspirations at a B&B on the Green. The beautiful space, with rustic columns and elegant table settings was filled with a veritable who's who of Washington County and beyond. Matthew F. Fuller, Chair of the Washington County Business Council took the helm as MC after brief welcome speeches from Todd Shimkus, CEO of the ARCC, and Carl Cedrone, Chair of the ARCC Board of Directors.
The room was lined with stunning autumnal arrangements for the winners and nominees, created by the horticulture department at BOCES, deep earth tone colored pieces of slate served as plaques for the winners and were crafted impeccably by the fine folks at Slateworks and with delectable slices of apple pie from Chef Rainer capping off a wonderful mean, everyone left feeling like a winner.
Carl Cedrone reflects on the things like the small businesses and farms throughout Washington County that originally enchanted his parents and ultimately led to Carl relocating his family to this area.
Ray McKinney, Chair of the Washington County LDC, speaking about the excellence in Washington County.
JoAnn Trinkle, Chair of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, addresses a full house, commending the business community as a whole for its wealth of excellence, as demonstrated by the significant number of nominations received.
Tim Haven of Falls Farm and Garden gave an alternately comedic and sentimental acceptance speech. He was quick to share the pricelessness of a dedicated staff and spoke passionately about the need for the continued practice of buying local. Matthew Fuller followed with a comment that drew great laughter and nodding, "You can sure by anything at Lowe's, but good luck getting it fixed."
Winners at last year's Small Business of the Year Awards, Vermont Timber Frames presented an award this year to Cambridge Valley Livestock Market. An interesting bit of trivia: the saw dust from Vermont Timber Frames has long gone to cushion the beds of the livestock at Cambridge Valley Livestock.
Tom McDermott, owner of McDermott's Harley-Davidson, flanked by John Marcantonio and Matthew Fuller, listens to someone from the audience, after which Tom responded with a zinger that demonstrated a razor wit and had the crowd in stitches.
Neil Orsini of The Anvil presented Dennis Yushak with his award, reminiscing about his first job in a similar store in Glens Falls, and the impact it had on the businessman he is today.
Dennis Yushak accepts his award and shares how taking a page from the Cheers playbook and always knowing everyone's name helps keep customers for 60+ years.
The Winner's Circle.
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