The chamber also recognized Kathy Toomey of New View Realty as its Volunteer of the Year and Allison Gillespie as the Blue Ridge BBQ and Music Festival Volunteer of the Year.

Sciacca noted that in 2012, the chamber added 46 businesses to its membership and has already added nine so far in 2013. She said in 2013 members benefited from the Chamber Bucks gift certificate program, the Member-to-Member discount program, educational workshops for entrepreneurs and a new website that advertises chamber members only.

In the last year the chamber’s popular Business After Hours events were held or sponsored by Pro Physical Therapy; Artstry Above; House of Flags and Tryon Estates; Skyuka Fine Arts, Costco, LaBouteille, Macon Bank, TFAC and Melrose Inn; Green River Adventures and Purple Onion; Ken’s Meats and Seafoods; New View Realty, Brady Trakas, Four winds florist and IGA; Little Mountain Farm Supply and Purrrfect Bark; Carolina Antiques and More; Thermal Belt Outreach Ministry, Pangaea and Timken; ServiceMaster of Polk County; Tryon Arts and Crafts and Swedish Solutions.

The chamber also held successful annual events such as the Blue Ridge BBQ and Music Festival, its golf tournament and its 20th Annual Seafood Extravaganza Party (aka Shuckin and Shaggin).

Organizations that benefited from the chamber’s fundraising efforts included: House of Flags Museum, Polk County Sheriff Mounted Patrol, Polk Soil and water Conservation, Ag Center in Mill Spring and the Tryon Tourism Development Authority.