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TROY — The Troy Chamber of Commerce celebrated its most prolific members from the past year with its Business Excellence Awards Ceremony March 7.
The awards ceremony took place at the Michigan State University Management Education Center, which has coordinated with the Troy chamber in the past. Twelve awards were given out to local businesses and business leaders.
“This is our fourth year in hosting the Troy Chamber Business Excellence Awards,” said chamber President Tara Tomcsik-Husak. “This event brings the business community together to celebrate the great things our members are doing in their companies and the communities that they serve.”
The winners were chosen by members of the community.
“While the Troy chamber created this event, the team has no say in the nomination process or the selection of winners,” said Tomcsik-Husak. “All nominations and voting were made by Troy chamber members and the public at large. This year we received over 65,000 votes, with the public vote accounting for 50% of the votes, and the other 50% was compiled from our Troy chamber board of directors, ambassadors and committee leaders’ votes.”
Entech Staffing Solutions won the Community Impact Award. The Diversity Championship Award was taken home by the Arc of Oakland County, which aids those who suffer from intellectual or developmental disabilities. Suzy Siegle, the president of Walsh College, won the Leadership Award.
“I am very grateful to win this award. It was presented by Kamal Shouhayib, the owner of the Choice Group, which is a real estate group in Troy,” said Siegle. “As I shared in my speech, I was honored, but it is because I have the honor of serving as the president of Walsh College that I was in a position to win the award. Leadership is never a solitary pursuit. I have a great team, I have a great board, and I have the whole Walsh College community working with me every day. I love the college and I love the mission.”
The Nonprofit Excellence Award went to Blessings in a Backpack, which gives school supplies to students in need. Biggby Coffee of Troy won the Customer Service Excellence Award. The Excellence in Tech Award was won by BetterWorld Collective Inc. Fresh & Pressed Juice of Troy won the Innovation Award. The Chamber Advocate Award was taken home by Matt Dery of Q5 Experience and Mark Gelbman of Caliber/Newrez.
The Inspiring Tomorrow Award went to Insuring Change. The Young Professional Award was won by Michelle Choice of Fogo de Chao. Cheryl Boodram of Chief Financial Credit Union won the Woman in Action Award. Lastly, the Creative Disruptor Award was given to Rebel Nell.
Tomcsik-Husak said that the chamber has been seeing a rising trend in community engagement from businesses this year, something she thinks is reflected in the award winners.
“We continue to tell people when they join a chamber that if you get involved, you will see a greater return for you and your business,” she said. “All of the winners we saw onstage are people that are very involved in our business community. They continue to be present, come to events, are active in collaborating with each other and support local businesses.”
Winners such as Siegle were humble about their achievements. Siegle said that this is more an award for her college and community than simply herself.
“A group voted for me, so I can’t say for sure why I deserve it,” she said. “We had our preferred educational partnership this year and have been working to make education more affordable and accessible. We have worked a lot, and even if I won, this is an accomplishment for Walsh.”
“While this event helped celebrate the many businesses we serve, we want to express our gratitude to all our members for supporting the chamber and local business community,” added Tomcsik-Husak.
