The 68th Clayton Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Community Awards Ceremony was held Tuesday, January 23, 2019 at Brick & Mortar Events in Clayton, NC. The Clayton Chamber of Commerce (CCOC) presented their annual awards, including Clayton’s Business of the Year and Citizen of the Year.
Citing excellent customer and community service, Align Family Chiropractic was chosen by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce as 2018 Business of the Year. CCOC’s President / CEO Dana Wooten responded after the ceremony, “I was very happy to give Align Family Chiropractic this award. Even though they have not been in Clayton that long, owners Dr. Matt and Dr. Jessica Thompson have made a huge impact on our business community, giving freely of their personal time and resources.” Announcing this year’s winner were 2017 Business of the Year recipients, Eddie and Pondra Byrd, owners of Rainbow Lanes Family Fun Center.
Selected by a community-wide task force from public nominations, the 2018 Citizen of the Year was awarded toLarry Bailey. Bailey’s near 40-year commitment to the Clayton community as the Director of Parks and Recreation and his humble and giving personality topped the list of reasons he was selected. “Larry has been a tremendous asset to the Clayton community for a very long time. We were excited to see him nominated this year and elated to see the task force recognize his dedicated service and dedication to our town,” said Wooten. Clayton’s 2017 Citizen of the Year Herman Mitchiner presented the award to Bailey.
The complete list of Clayton Chamber of Commerce award recipients are listed below. Additional awards were presented by Clayton Downtown Development Association, Clayton Rotary Club, and Clayton Women in Networking during this event.
2018 CCOC Award Recipients:
Business of the Year: Align Family Chiropractic
Citizen of the Year: Larry Bailey
Innovator of the Year: Dave DeYoung
Volunteer of the Year: Sara Perricone
Super Star Teacher of the Year: Kimberly Ellison of Powhatan Elementary
Leaving a Legacy Award: Dyrke Maricle
Ambassador of the Year: Erin Davis-Belcher
Clayton Harvest Festival Hero Awards: Jim Lee, Ariel Ramirez, Eric Rabuse, Pasquale Goicoechea, and Simon Garen
2018 Gratitude Awards: Clayton Police Department and Clayton Fire Department
Key Contributor of the Year: Boone Williams
Committee of the Year: CCOC Economic Development Committee – Ruth Anderson, Edwin Jackson, Kyle McDermott, Dave DeYoung, Kaitlin Crocker, Jim Perricone, Bobby Bunn, Greg Kennedy, Charlie Bell, Beth Watson, Tara Abernathy, and Stacy Beard
