To the Editor:

The Greater Ogdensburg Chamber of Commerce would like to thank everyone who attended the annual dinner on Friday, November 4. We were pleased to honor the following recipients: Mr. James Fitzgerald, Citizen of the Year; United Helpers – Mosaic, Business Improvement Award and the Gouverneur Breast Cancer Fund, Outstanding Community Service Award.

We had over (200) guests attend our delicious dinner provided by Louis Williams and the hard-working Gran-View Restaurant staff. We would like to thank our generous auction and dinner sponsors for their loyalty and support: Akwesasne Mohawk Casino; Ansen Corp.; Basta’s Flower Shop; Bella Brooke Winery; Big Cheese Pizza; Bows & Bandana Pet Salon & Resort; Carlisle Law Firm; Center for Sight; Claxton Hepburn Medical Center Aux.; Community Bank, NA; Community Health of the North Country; Dixie Lee Restaurant; Dr. & Mrs. Ravinder Agarwal; Eternity Bridal & Boutique; Fort LaPresentation; Fox & Murray Funeral Home; Frederic Remington Art Museum; Friot’s Bounce House Rentals; Gardner’s Flooring & Furniture; Gary & Aileen’s Salon; Glow Skincare & Spa; Gran-View/Quality Inn; Johnstown Duty Free Shop; Jones Insurance Agency; Kimro’s Medicine Place; Kinney Drugs; Kiwanis Club of Ogdensburg; Miller’s Greenhouse; Mort Backus & Sons, Inc.; North Country Savings Bank; North Country This Week; Northern NY Newspapers; Northern Physical Therapy; NYSARC; Ogdensburg Command Performances; Ogdensburg Bowl; Partylite; Pepsi-Cola Ogdensburg Bottlers; Phillips Diner; Pinto, Mucenski, Hooper & VanHouse; Ramona Breen, Esq. P.C.; Rent-A-Center; Renzi Foods; Santa’s Village; Sey N Sey Customs; Sherman Inn; Stonefence Motel; St. Joseph’s Home; St. Lawrence Federal Credit Union; Stephens Media Group; The New Media Outpost; The Place; Uncle Sam Boat Tours; US Foods and the Wild Center.

Thanks to Reverend James Shurtleff for leading us in prayer. Thanks to Daniel Harridine, Michele Montroy and Missy Proulx for introducing our award recipients. A warm thanks to Assemblywoman Addie Russell and John Friot from Senator Patty Ritchie’s office who honored our recipients with Proclamations from their respective offices.

We would also like to thank the Chamber Board of Directors who always go above and beyond to help before, during and after our events – Michele Catlin and Steve Hawes, co-chairs of the Annual Dinner Committee; Alex Augsbury, Michael Brashaw, Craig Chevalier, Kim Demers, Melanie Flack, Ken Gardner, Amy Hartford, Wayne Izzo, Lee Jones, Melissa Lalonde, Sean McNamara, Dawn Merz (our wonderful MC) R. O’Donnell, Betsy Porter, Sarah Purdy, John Rishe, Rhonda Roethel, Judy Ryan, Cheryl Seymour, Julia Stevenson, Michael Thayer,

Derek VanHouse and John Wade. A special thank you to our honorary auction assistant – Dave Merz. Last but not least, a warm and grateful thank you to the Chamber’s admin assistant, Kim Snyder and office clerk, Kaitlyn Tiernan.

Laura Pearson

Ogdensburg Chamber of Commerce executive director