The Napa Chamber will be presenting a few select awards at the Annual Award and Installation of Officers Dinner on Friday, January 22, 2010 at the Napa Marriott. Winners this year include Joe and Angela Peatman for Citizens of the Year, Napa Community Bank for Business of the Year, Georgia Baughman and Sue Griffiths for Ambassadors of the Year and finally, the Family Friendly Business of the Year, which is awarded by the Napa County Office of Education, goes to Lixit Corporation. The dinner also provides the opportunity to install the new Chamber Officers for 2010 including Randy Martinsen as Chairman of the Board and Ryan Gregory as Chair-Elect.

The Chamber’s Annual Awards offer a point in time to honor those high contributors who routinely go above and beyond to make the town of Napa a healthy, growing and inclusive community. The Peatman’s are being honored for their considerable support of many local non-profit organizations ranging from the Gasser Foundation body of works to the Puertas Abiertas Community Resource Center. The Peatmans are long time Napans well known for their civic involvement, care for the most at risk and for their overall responsiveness to the needs of our community. Immediate Past Chamber Chairman Mike Silvas says, “They have been long time selfless contributors to the community and it’s about time for us to recognize them!”

The Napa Community Bank nomination as Business of the Year resulted from the overwhelming amount of community activities supported by that organization, its staff and their Board of Directors. Over one hundred community non-profits were touched by the Bank’s generosity last year and twenty two local organizations count Bank staff or directors on their respective boards. The award comes after a strenuous application process in which aspiring businesses submitted information to the Chamber for consideration. Napa Community Bank sets the bar high for their fellow colleagues with their extensive community support activities and their overwhelmingly positive approach to both customer service and employee retention.

The Ambassador program was started thirty years ago and was designed as a diplomatic corps to “create good will and understanding among members of the Chamber and business community.” This mission is carried out in a variety of ways. For example, the Ambassadors organize and attend ribbon cuttings for new businesses or businesses which have enlarged or remodeled their premises and frequently operate as mentors to new businesses sharing the “ropes” of conducting business in Napa. Each year the Chamber honors the Ambassador program with a community award. This year’s Ambassador of the Year was awarded to two people, Georgia Baughman and Sue Griffiths. “I think they are the most marvelous choice for Ambassadors of the Year!” says Steve Reinbolt, Chairman of the Ambassadors. “They have advanced our activities, our planning and our record keeping into the current century! They are wonderful!”

After the selection process was complete Chamber CEO Lisa Batto reflected on the winners; “Napa is a fortunate place. We have many people in this community that are willing to give, either with time or with monetary donations. Often they give both. Each of our award winners has given much of themselves to better the quality of life in our community.”

The gala dinner and Silent Auction event will be held at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa on January 22, 2010. Tickets are available online at napachamber.com.

Photos:
Top: Joe and Angela Peatman
Middle: Sue Griffiths
Bottom: Georgia Baughman