By MATT LINDSEY

CANTON — The Canton Chamber of Commerce has named Save-A-Lot owner Jeff Proulx as its member of the year and will honor the Church and Community Program with its recognition award.

The awards will be presented at the chamber’s annual dinner 6 p.m. Feb. 4 in Eben Holden Dining Hall at St. Lawrence University.

Jeff Proulx, was chosen for the award he is a community-orientated man, according to executive director Sally Hill.

“He is a local guy and is always willing to help in the community,” she said.

Proulx opened the Save-A-Lot supermarket in the University Plaza in Sept. 2014. The Canton location is Proulx’s eighth store. He owns others in Potsdam, Gouverneur and Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County.

The store in Canton is larger than the Potsdam store by about 3,000 square feet, totaling 18,700 square feet.

Hill cited Proulx’s willingness to help local pee-wee sports teams and his holiday-time food program as contributing factors to his business being chosen.

“Even his Potsdam location and the UPS store (which Proulx also owns) are members of our chamber, Hill said.

“Its kind of funny…Jeff’s father won the same award in 1991 and owned a grocery store as well,” she said. “He too, was a community-oriented man…so it’s nice to this.”

Jeff has been the president of the chamber on has participated on the board, Hill said.

The Canton Chamber of Commerce Recognition Award is given to a non-chamber business or organization that has improved the community.

The chamber chose the Church and Community Program as its award winner.

“I don’t know what people in the area would do without them,” Hill said.

The program is serving around 11,000 meals per month which is an increase of roughly 9,000 from one year ago.

“From providing food to families to putting people up in a motel after a fire, they do so much for people,” she said.

The Church and Community Program helps feed and cloth people as well as provides emergency assistance for housing, transportation and more.

“I am glad to have both of them in the community,” Hill said. “It is hard to choose some years as there are lots of great businesses in the community but a lot of input goes into choosing.”

Hill said a lot of the finalists for this year are put into a pool for consideration next year.