2010 Annual Award Winners

The following award recipients were recognized at the Greenville Chamber's 122nd Annual Meeting on Tuesday, February 8, 2011:

The 2010 Small Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Dixon Hughes, PLLC, was presented to Immedion. This is the 34th year in which the Chamber has recognized the spirit of entrepreneurship by presenting the Small Business of the Year Award. Immedion was founded in 2006 with the objective of providing Upstate area businesses with an enterprise-class data center facility far superior to anything else available to them. Their focus has always been to meet the infrastructure demands of their customers and to provide them with a level of service they couldn’t get from larger providers. They keep business-critical data and applications available 100% of the time 24x7x365 by coupling a world-class data center facility and a strategic array of managed technology services. Their engineers and support professionals are committed to surpassing customer expectations by developing and delivering the highest degree of reliability and service at a competitive price. In October 2010, they opened their second data center facility in Columbia. With two fully redundant data centers operating in South Carolina, this company is the largest, most reliable, data center and managed services provider. CEO, Frank Mobley and COO Rob Moser accepted the award.

The Minority Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Bank of America, is presented to a local independently- and minority-owned company that has been in business for a minimum of three years. The 2010 award was presented to Michael M. Simpson & Associates, Inc. Founded in 1999,  Michael M. Simpson & Associates, Inc. is a structural engineering firm that provides structural design and construction administration services to diverse markets. The company’s engineers and designers average over 25 years of experience in structural engineering. The owner is a graduate of North Carolina State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He holds licenses to practice structural engineering in the states of SC, GA FL, NC, TX, NJ, and TN. He has 100% ownership and 100% control of both the operation and management of the firm.
Owner Michael Simpson accepted the award.

The Young Professional of the Year Award, sponsored by BB&T, is designed to recognize an individual between the ages of 22 and 39 for his or her involvement in the community. The 2010 award was presented to Elizabeth Garrison of Ever-Green Recycling. Elizabeth is a graduate of Clemson University. A true entrepreneur, she saw a need in her community and sought a solution by founding Ever-Green Recycling in 2007. Her company is not only creating jobs in the local marketplace, but is also educating area business-people about waste reduction and the incorporation of practical habits into everyday living that will create a more sustainable SC for future generations. In three years, she has grown the company to 5 employees, and serves clients across the Upstate including restaurants, hotels, small businesses, corporate offices and medical facilities. In addition to her work as Greenville’s “Ecopreneur”, she is an active member of the Carolina Recycling Association and volunteers her time with the Greenville Chamber’s Environmental Committee, Junior Achievement, the Carolina Ballet Theater, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. She is a past Board member of the Greenville Chamber’s young professional group, PULSE and currently serves on the Boards for the Clemson University Small Business Development Council and the Downtown Symphony Club.

The Arts Leadership Award was created to recognize exemplary leadership in promoting and advocating the arts on behalf of the Greenville community. The award is presented to an artist, philanthropist, arts executive, volunteer or corporation each year. The 2010 award, sponsored by The Peace Center for the Performing Arts, was presented to TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank. TD Bank lost no time in forming its arts partnerships soon after it came to Greenville, taking the baton from predecessor Carolina First. As the naming sponsor of the new TD Pavilion at the Peace Center, TD Bank has raised the bar for multiple arts events and organizations, not to mention the Peace Center itself. Theirs will be a gift that has meaning for hundreds of thousands here in Greenville every year. Lynn Harton, Head of TD Bank’s Regional Banking, South accepted the award.

The ATHENA® 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 2010 ATHENA Award, sponsored by the Past Athena Award Recipients, was presented to both Diane Smock and Susan Hoag.

The first recipient of the Athena Award Diane Smock is currently the executive director of the Upstate Mediation Center. Prior to this, she was elected as the Greenville County Probate Judge in 1990, a position she held until 1998. In 2001, she was elected as an at-large member of Greenville City Council, a position in which she served for 8 years. She has provided several courageous leadership on several transformative projects in Greenville, including the downtown baseball stadium, the Whittenberg Elementary School, the expansion of Falls Park and construction of the Liberty Bridge, just to name a few. Through the years, she has provided leadership on boards of over 25 local and state organizations. In recognition of her extraordinary work on behalf of women, she has received numerous awards, including the Order of the Jessamine, the YWCA’s “Woman of Achievement” Award, and the Greenville Cultural Exchange Center’s “Women Making History” Award.

The second recipient of the Athena Award Susan Hoag has a successful career in banking and is now serving as vice president of government affairs with Greenville Technical College. She has served as Chairwoman of the SC Commission on Women, Chairwoman of the Greenville Chamber’s Legislative Committee, Chairwoman of Freedom Weekend Aloft, and numerous other community projects. She has been recognized and honored with numerous awards, including the Order of the Jessamine and the Order of the Palmetto – SC highest honor. She is also responsible for introducing the ATHENA award to the Greenville Chamber.

The Max Heller Neighborhood Improvement Award is given annually to an organization that has shown exemplary efforts toward neighborhood improvement and empowerment. The award is named in honor of former Greenville mayor Max Heller, who spearheaded numerous efforts over the years to improve the quality of life for all citizens of Greenville County. The 2010 award, sponsored by Smith Moore Leatherwood, was presented to Allen Temple Community Economic Development Corporation. Allen Temple Community Economic Development Corporation focuses on bringing affordable housing and economic development to neighborhoods that are underserved by the normal stream of for-profit development and economic activity. Their intention is to act as a partner with governmental agencies and other non-profit organizations to develop and enhance opportunities for community development in Greenville and surrounding areas. Although the scope of their program includes the larger Greenville, SC community, their mission begins in the neighborhood where Allen Temple A.M.E. Church has long been located. As the needs of this community are successfully addressed, they plan to expand their efforts and influence to surrounding communities -- especially those areas that are designated as "target areas" by the City of Greenville Community Development Department and the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority. It is their intention to continue the development of affordable rental single-family houses and single-family homeownership utilizing funding sources from the state, federal and local levels over a long-term period. Executive Director Charlie Warth accepted the award.

In a special award category the Chamber recognized a significant contribution in leadership development. The Special Chairman’s Award for Leadership Development, sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, was presented to Terence Brooks, Captain in the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
Terence has spent 28 years in law enforcement and currently serves as a Captain in the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. He is a graduate of Leadership Greenville Class 30 and rose through the ranks of leadership service on Leadership Greenville’s Board of Regents. Over the past two years, he has been instrumental in bringing more diversity to the Chamber’s leadership sessions, reorganizing the program to its Leadership Development Board format and aligning PULSE, our young professionals group, into the Chamber’s overall leadership development program. He currently serves on the Leadership Greenville Alumni Board and the Leadership Development Council as immediate past chair. He is a leader who ‘shows up’ and works hard for the benefit of all in our signature program to train community leaders for the future.

The annual Chairman’s Award, sponsored by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., recognized a team of outstanding individuals this year for their hard work and dedication to bringing Southwest Airlines to the Upstate. The 2010 Chairman’s Award was presented to Minor Shaw, Chair of the Greenville/Spartanburg Airport Commission; Dave Edwards, Executive Director of the Greenville/Spartanburg Airport Commission; Sam Konduros, Incoming Chair of the Greenville Chamber; and Joe Erwin with Erwin-Penland Advertising.

The Upstate business community is celebrating the decision by Southwest Airlines to begin service to GSP on March 13th. To say that it took many people and many organizations to make this dream happen would be an understatement. With the support of our corporate community, literally hundreds were involved.
This “team” recognized by the Chamber went above and beyond in providing their time and commitment to this project. As individuals and as a group they conceived strategy, developed presentations and negotiated a proposal that won this game-changing partnership for our region.

The Buck Mickel Leadership Award, sponsored by AT&T, 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 2010 Buck Mickel Leadership Award recognized and honored the memory of South Carolina Representative Bill Wylie.

Last September we lost a real champion for business and the quality of life of our region. Representative Bill Wylie was a businessperson serving as President of Stone International, President of Umbro America and CEO of Goodwill Industries. He lived here for 30 years and raised his family with Janie, his wife of 49 years. When he retired from Goodwill, Bill turned his attention to service in the South Carolina General Assembly. In that role he supported the Chamber’s legislative agenda and was a strong advocate for the Upstate Caucus and the Upstate Chamber Coalition. Last year, when it appeared we needed help from the state to secure a low-cost airline, it was Rep. Bill Wylie who authored and championed the Airline Incentive Act which moved quickly through the House and over to the Senate. Bill did everything he could to help make the deal work. Bill also drafted legislation to encourage Angel Investors to support entrepreneurs. That bill, now moving through the General Assembly, was renamed the “Bill Wylie Entrepreneurship Act.” Representative Wylie’s wife Janie Wylie accepted the award on behalf of the family.