By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
Excitement was in the air as members of the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce gathered at the Casablanca Resort on Wednesday, Jan. 11 for a very special luncheon event. As is tradition, the January luncheon was devoted to the annual Best of Mesquite Chamber awards and everyone was excited to see who the winners were. It was the fourth year for this annual event.
“Mesquite Chamber of Commerce looks forward to our annual “Best of Mesquite Chamber Awards and State of the Chamber Luncheon” each year,” said Chamber President/CEO Carol Kolson. “We were pleased to see so many nominees – from small businesses to large businesses and from startups to businesses that have been in Mesquite for a long time!”
Nominees of member businesses in ten different categories were brought forward by the membership of the Chamber at the end of the year. A vote is then taken with each Chamber membership casting a single ballot for each category. The nominee with the most votes in each category is awarded as a Best of Mesquite Chamber business.
During the meeting, Kolson went through each of the various categories. In each category, an award envelope was handed to her by Chamber board member Norman Utley, who was dressed to the nines for the role.
Kolson then announced the award winners who then came to the stand for photos with Kolson and Chamber Board Chairwoman Christi Neff. Each was presented a beautiful crystal trophy, custom-made by local business City Shoppes.
In the category of Health Provider of the Year, the winner was Intermountain Health Care.The Financial Services Excellence Award went to America First Credit Union Mesquite Branch.
The Salvation Army was recognized in the 2022 Non-profit of the Year category.
The Conestoga Golf Course did it one better. The golf club won again for the fourth year in a row.
Conestoga has won this category every year since the award ceremonies began.
The Outstanding Community Service category had, by far, the most nominations with no less than ten.
The winner ended up being Salvation Army. It was the third year in a row for this organization to receive this award.
The Service Provider of the Year award went to Lindi Corp.
The 2022 Hospitality Award went to Hole Foods Bakery for the second year in a row.
Danielle’s Chocolates and Popcorn was the winner of the Customer Service Champion award.
In the category of Real Estate Agent/Company of the Year, the winner was local realtor Karen Fielding. Fielding has won this category for the past three years running.
A new award was begun for the first time this year. It honors the best New Business of the Year for the year 2022. The premiere recipient of this category was Juniper Outpost.
The final distinction presented at the meeting was the Chamber’s Diamond Award. This special distinction is meant to recognize a business or individual for strong support of the Chamber throughout the year. Kolson explained that nominations for the Diamond Award are made by the Chamber Board itself. Then it is brought to a final vote of the Board.
Nominees for the Diamond Award included individual member Wendy Lauer, Lydia Leduc of Sun City Realty and Leesa Myers of Business Owners Advocate, Inc. The winner was Lydia Leduc.
Kolson congratulated all of the nominees and winners in all categories. She also noted that Amanda Sandoval, a community liaison for Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo was in attendance in the audience. She stated that every winner and nominee in the Chamber’s Best of Mesquite awards would receive a special certificate of recognition from the Governor’s office.
“Mesquite Chamber of Commerce was so honored when Governor Lombardo sent a recognition certificate for each nominee,” Kolson said. “It’s a beautiful certificate that they can proudly display in their business. I don’t think that I have seen anything like that before in my Chamber career.”
In a brief State of the Chamber address, Kolson also summarized some major accomplishments for the past year. She explained that in 2022, the Chamber had gained 60 new members to reach a total membership of 314.
In addition, the Chamber staff fielded no less than 167 office visits from out-of-town information seekers in 2022. They also sent out 25 relocation packets and took 259 tourism calls, she said.
In a major announcement, Kolson said that the Chamber would be moving its office in the spring of this year. The Chamber has purchased its own office space in the Oasis Professional Park.
“Mesquite Chamber will be starting our improvements to our new office space and anticipate being in the new office in just a few months,” Kolson said. “This is an exciting time. The Chamber has never owned their own building before and we thank our members for their support!”
