The Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce held its Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon at the Best Western Plus Waynesboro on Thursday.
The program recognized well-deserved small businesses for their achievements and contributions to the economy in the Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro communities. These awards celebrated the fact that small business owners make up more than 92%of all employers in the USA – and also more than 90% of the Chamber’s membership.
Keynote Speaker, Shawn Boyer, Founder and CEO of DieHappy, an intentionality app that helps you do things for and with your most important people spoke on the value of Small Businesses. Prior to DieHappy, he founded and was CEO of Snagajob, the nation’s largest marketplace for hourly workers and employers, from 2000-2013, and then Chairman of the Board through 2015. Boyer directed Snagajob’s rapid growth from an idea to a marketplace that now has over 70 million members and over 50,000 employers.
Snagajob has been named to Fortune Magazine’s Great Place to Work® Best Small & Medium Workplaces list for eight straight years (including 5 top 10 finishes and a #1 ranking in 2011) and was a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 company for five consecutive years.
In 2008, Shawn was named the National Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and received public recognition from President George W. Bush. Boyer is a frequent speaker regarding building great workplace cultures and rapidly scaling businesses and has appeared in places such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Good Morning America, CNN and in daily newspapers throughout the nation. He is also the author of Help Wanted & Help Found: The insiders’ guide to recruiting & hiring hourly workers.
Boyer is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and the Washington & Lee School of Law, and he received his LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. He has sat and continues to sit on a number of different non-profit boards.
Award winners
Small Business- Zeus Digital Theaters
Zeus Theater opened October 8th 2010. More than 200 construction workers were involved with the $8 million project, and 95 percent of them were local. Additionally, one thousand people applied for the 70 job openings. According to owner, Brett Hayes, “We’ve had some people that were unemployed for a year when we hired them. We had some people that were retirees. We had some working age folks, had some high school kids, college kids. And employees today, continue to be of diverse backgrounds.” ,,,,,,,, All adding to the sense of community that he continues to promote. Zeus Theater is one the most technologically advanced theater on the east coast. With over 1,100 seats, the theater shows the latest Hollywood releases in 7.1 surround sound and stunning digital projection. Over 300,000 theater goers come through the doors each year to visit Zeus and Brett uses that opportunity to put forward fundraisers and help many causes. The theater also hosts special shows for children with various disabilities. Brett uses his theater to support a range of different groups including being a long time member of the Waynesboro Rotary club, the Salvation Army and the Waynesboro YMCA.
Entrepreneur- Michelle Gallaugher- Staunton Olive Oil Company
Michelle is the owner of the Staunton Olive Oil Company. After experiencing some health issues a few years ago and understanding the importance of what and how we eat, Michelle, a registered nurse of more than 20 years, pursued a cleaner, healthier way of eating and an active lifestyle. About this same time, she was introduced to an olive oil and vinegar store through family in Central Florida. Michelle and her husband Gary felt strongly that Staunton would be a wonderful location to pursue opening a similar store. Michelle was one of the winners of the BRIGHT Rewired grant, where participants completed an eight-week business planning course and competed to win money from the Virginia Community Business Launch initiative. They are excited to continue sharing with their customers the wonderful flavor combinations of olive oils and vinegars; as well as support the benefits of a healthier way of living through their use.
Non Profit-United Way of Greater Augusta
We are very excited to present Community Organization of the year to the United Way of Greater Augusta. It seems fitting to be giving this award as they’re celebrating their 75th year! United Way of Greater Augusta strives to be the leader that unites the community towards positive change and to help improve the lives of people in our community. They do this through being community focused and having great partnerships with other organizations and businesses in the Greater Augusta region. They focus on three main areas- Education, Income and Health. They promote community and volunteer engagement, community investment, resource generation and maintain very high standards of excellence. Cynthia Pritchard, President and CEO of the United Way of Greater Augusta, is here to accept their award.
Community Hero- Lt. Minday Craun, Augusta County Fire/Rescue (FYI, A portion of the proceeds were donated Augusta County Fire/Rescue as part of the award )
Lt. Minday Craun has been with Augusta County Fire-Rescue since 1996. She was given a lifetime membership with the Verona Volunteer Fire Company in 2006. Minday has designed and initiated school safety programs and a multitude of public events. She is President of the State Recruitment and Retention for Volunteers. She continues to work with locak partners in the Shenandoah Valley Fire Life Safety Network as well as the Citizens Emergency Response Team and Central Shenandoah Valley Planning Commission. Minday has a passion for teaching Fire Safety and while we will never know how many injuries she has prevented or lives she has saved….Minday has undoubtedly made an impact. She is focused on her commitment to the community, dedication to the Fire Rescue organizations and motivated to ensure the best possible outcomes for the citizens of Augusta County. Written by Chief Carson Holloway, Augusta County Fire-Rescue.
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