By LINDA CHION KENNEY
With decades of commercial lending experience, Jeff Campbell took to the stage as a chamber leader to give a shout-out to the folks who put pep in the steps of local business enterprise.
“We’ve got big companies, but our small businesses are the ones that keep this economy running and the ones that we need to support,” Campbell said at the Family Celebration and Awards Day, presented by the Central Hillsborough County Chamber of Commerce, Feb. 22 at YMCA Camp Cristina in Riverview “These [businesses] are [run by] the people who are our neighbors.”
Jeff Campbell, second from left, president of the Central Hillsborough County Chamber of Commerce, with board members in attendance at the Feb. 22 family and awards celebration
Campbell spoke before each of the three finalists in three size categories, based on the number of employees, were announced at the CHCC Business of the Year Awards ceremony Feb. 22.
“I’ve seen the struggles of business owners,” Campbell said. “A lot of people don’t understand the risks that are taken to be a business owner, [and] all the challenges that they have on a regular basis, just to keep the employees going and the customers going and everything else.”
For that reason, “I want to make sure that the finalists get the exact same recognition as the actual winners,” added Campbell, president and CEO of the Central Hillsborough County Chamber of Commerce, and a past board member of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce. “Every single one of these businesses is [run by] people who have worked their butts off to get to where they are.”
In the small business category, Tammy See, with her husband Chad, accepted the business award in the small business category for OEL Heating & Cooling. Finalist honorees were Vosler Young Artists’ Studio (Kerry Vosler) and Accent American (Lisa and Ken Jordan), which specializes in cleaning and disaster restoration.
In the medium-sized business category, Pat Simmons, with Michael and Pam Friedler, accepted the CHCC Business Award for Bikes for Christ, a nonprofit that provides bicycles for those in need of transportation. Finalist awards were given to Repair Your Tech (RYT) IT Solutions (Jennifer and Anthony Montgomery) and to Preservation 1st Financial Group (Michael and Christian Beiter, accepting with Kimberly Payne).
Linda Chion Kenney photos
Representatives from Preservation 1st Financial Group, Brandon Crossroads Bowl, Vosler Young Artists’ Studio, OEL Heating & Cooling, High 5, Bikes for Christ and RYT IT Solutions gather at the end of the Feb. 22 business awards ceremony, presented by the Central Hillsborough County Chamber of Commerce. Melissa Canfield, who received a chamber award for her work as an ambassador, is in the photo as well.
Accepting the business award in the large-business category, on behalf of High 5 Inc., were long-time employee Amy Moore and board member Craig Beckinger, who for his business, ABC Event Planning, won the award last year in the small business category. Located in Brandon, High 5 provides educational and athletic programming. Finalists in the category were Parwani Law (Rinky Parwani, not in attendance) and Brandon Crossroads Bowl, with Jeff and Cade Boje accepting the award.
“It’s an honor to be part of this,” said Jason Britton, the event’s emcee, in the process of announcing awards. “This property’s pretty awesome, too.”
YMCA Camp Cristina is a 65-acre outdoor campus at 9840 Balm Riverview Road. Offerings include after-school programming; summer and spring break camps; horseback riding; youth sports; and group team and development opportunities, for which the camp’s Zip Line often is used.
Title Sponsor for the Feb. 22 chamber event was Christopher Ligori & Associates, Tampa personal injury attorneys. Event sponsors were Advent Health Riverview, Suncoast Credit Union, Tampa Electric Company (TECO) and the Mosaic Company.
For more on YMCA Camp Cristina, visit www.tampaymca.org and search for the camp, or call 813-677-8400.
The chamber has offices in the Winthrop community in Riverview at 6152 Delancey Station St., Suite 205. Call (813) 234-5944.