Roane County Chamber honors 2014 business award winners

 

Submitted

The Roane County Chamber’s business awards were presented Friday night during the 68th Annual Banquet. One of the largest crowds in recent years attended the event, with their fellow Chamber members being honored for outstanding service. The Chamber’s business awards are an integral part of the annual banquet. The awards presented include:

• Betty Mowrer, of Kingston, named Volunteer of the Year;
• The Bridge at Rockwood, named 2014 Business of the Year;
• Jude Miller, Active Family and Sports Chiropractic, received the Paul E. Goldberg Young Professional Award;
• Danice Turpin, Tennessee College of Applied Technology, was named Roane Chamber Woman of the Year for her years of dedicated community service; and
• The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Sharon Templeton, of EnergySolutions, who was honored for her outstanding contributions both to Roane County and the Chamber.

Chamber President Wade Creswell began the presentations honoring several outgoing Chamber Board members for their service: Ralph Best, Ann Davis, and Paul Cowell, Whitestone Country Inn.

Creswell presented a new award this year—Volunteer of the Year award—to honor longtime volunteer Betty Mowrer, for giving close to 400 hours of service to numerous programs at The Alliance including the Chamber Banquet and Education Matters!

Creswell also presented the year’s Business of the Year award to longtime Chamber member, The Bridge at Rockwood, for not only their significant economic impact on Roane County, but also for “inspiring its employees to be servant leaders” throughout the county, including many serving in roles at the Chamber—from ambassadors to board members.

“The Bridge at Rockwood promotes community health through free health fairs, blood pressure screenings, and Elder Watch meetings,” said Creswell, “but that is only a portion of their support, others include the Tennessee College of Applied Technology’s Nursing Advisory Board, Leadership Roane County Board of Directors, Youth Leadership of Roane County, Michael Dunn Center’s Human Rights Committee, and the Roane Health Council.”

The next award—the Paul E. Goldberg Young Professional award—was presented to Jude Miller, Active Family and Sports Chiropractic, by last year’s winner, Brantley Rivers, Acme Block and Brick. Rivers described Miller as a “rising star for Roane County…who rarely says no when there is a cause that needs help” as described in the award submission for this under-40 award for those who ‘demonstrate outstanding performance or unusual contribution in their community.’”

Brantley said that Miller’s involvement in the county, despite only moving to Roane County in 2011, is “vast and diverse” and includes being a “member of the Chamber board and Leadership Roane County as well as Kiwanis, Kingston Century Club, Tennessee Chiropractic Association, American College of Sports Medicine, World Federation of Chiropractic, and being involved in the community through Run for Dunn, Relay for Life, CASA Run, and Storm the Fort Triathlon. Brantley also added “Miller also works as an instructor for the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Harriman, and an adjunct professor for Roane State Community College.”

The Chamber Woman of the Year Award, honoring individuals for their professional achievements and community service, and for their assistance to women in reaching their full potential, went this year to Danice Turpin, Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Harriman. Presenting the award was last year’s winner, Gail Lyke, First Bank of Tennessee in Rockwood.

Lyke described Turpin as “a true professional that is highly respected by her colleagues and friends; she is someone who unselfishly gives back to her community through her service on numerous boards and her involvement in several civic organizations.”

Just some of those boards include Princess Theatre, Roane Chamber, Leadership Roane County, and The Roane Alliance. Turpin also serves as a member of Kiwanis and Roane County’s Green Team and is the chair for the Kiwanis Youth Service, a judge for Skills USA, and serves as mentor for Tennessee Achieves.

The last award—the Distinguished Service Award—was presented to Sharon Templeton of EnergySolutions, the first woman to ever win the most prestigious of the Chamber’s annual business awards. Roane State President Chris Whaley presented the award that honors a Chamber member who has demonstrated outstanding performance or unusual contribution to Roane County and the Chamber and is highly respected in his or her field.

Templeton “exhibits her love for Roane County through her constant and active service for the better good of the area,” said Whaley, taking from the award submission. “She has faithfully served on numerous boards in Roane County, including serving as the current chair of the Roane Alliance and serving committees and organizations such as Michael Dunn Center, Oak Ridge Center for Leadership Development, and the Harriman Rotary Club, and is a graduate of Leadership Roane County and Regional Leadership.”

In presenting the award to Templeton, Whaley added: “Sharon makes a tremendous impact in the community. The list of Distinguished Service Award winners includes dozens of individuals who understood that communities thrive when its citizens embrace civic service. It’s an honor to add Sharon’s name to that list.”

The banquet was held at Whitestone Country Inn, providing one of the prettiest backdrops for this spring-time event, with more than 160 business and community leaders and supporters attending. The night could not happen without the sponsors: Platinum Sponsor—Roane State Foundation; and the table sponsors—City of Rockwood, Coldwell Banker/Jim Henry and Associates, EnergySolutions, First Bank of Tennessee, Griffin Insurance, HUB, McGill and Associates, Omni Visions, Roane County government, Santek Waste Services, and Signature Health Care. More than 120 individuals and businesses donated products and services for the silent auction that helps provide funding for the Chamber’s programming through the year.

For photos from the event and a list of those who sponsored and donated visit www.RoaneChamber.com/Banquet.

The Chamber is a partner organization under The Roane Alliance—Roane County’s economic development organization. Other partners who operate under the Alliance umbrella with the Chamber include the Industrial Development Board and the Visitor’s Bureau. To learn more about how the Roane Alliance promotes economic development and seeks increased opportunities for all Roane County citizens, visit www.roanealliance.org.