21st Annual Business Celebration

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Created on Tuesday, 03 November 2015 21:57

Written by Kaitlyn Manktelow

LYNDON- 170 people and 70 businesses gathered at Lyndon State College to celebrate the 21st annual business celebration. During this event, businesses were recongnized, employees who went above and beyond were acknowledged, and people looked back on the challenges they have overcome.

This annual celebration helps to provide a unique way for local businesses to work together and collaborate on new ideas. Amanda McDermott, the Creative Director at Dog Mountain said, "I think all businesses network to some degree and I think that meeting face to face is really important to create those bonds and let the ideas flow."

While some employees were praised and acknowledged, people like Dr. Samuel Shippee, the owner of Optical Expressions thinks it's more about what you do for the community. "I think it's nice to be rewarded for hard work anytime you do something. I think that in the long run, it's more about letting people know what you give." In addition to helping local businesses promote themselves and come together with other businesses, the event also helps to reassure and send a positive message to both business owners and employees.

This event started over twenty years ago when the United States was still struggling from the recession of the early 1990's. According to the Exectuvie Director of The Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, Darcie McCann, the recession also helps to teach a lesson about success. "When we started this twenty years ago, it was a difficult time. It was a recession and really our moral as a region was really low. We did this then, and we do it now to have people realize that there is really good business stories out there. There's success."

According to Shippee, this event helps to bring the community together. "I think that a message from this event is that we care about business owners. We care about you guys networking with each other, and that positive things are happening with you. So it feels like there is always energy in the community."

Due to the popularity of this celebration, McCain states that this is unfortunately the second year in a row that they've had to turn businesses that wanted to attend away because they had already reached maximum capacity.

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