By Logan B. Anderson

FELTON — Among the vines at Pizzadili Vineyard & Winery and Felton, the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce celebrated excellence and its accomplishments during its annual gathering on Thursday evening.

The yearly event marks the end of the central Delaware chamber’s fiscal year and the start of a new one. The group uses the occasion to celebrate its members, honor outstanding partners and swear in its new board members. The event is called the Annual Awards for Excellence Celebration.

“The awards for excellence event is the biggest event of the year. It is such an important occasion because it is the night when we have the honor of celebrating our members — it’s all about them, their persistent hard work, and the multitude of things they accomplish throughout the year for their companies, the community, and their chamber,” said Dina C. Vendetti, president of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce.

On Thursday evening, Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board of Directors Brian J. Stetina delivered the state of the chamber address.

“There are many reasons to declare the state of the chamber is strong … we never fail to remember that the biggest reason for the success of the CDCC is all of you. Thank you as always, for your continued support, encouragement, and your engagement in our chamber. Because of you it has been a very good year and thank you so much,” Mr. Stetina said.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors also presided over this year’s Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards on Thursday in Felton.

• The Delaware State News and Kent County Tourism Corporation were presented with the 2022 Outstanding Partnership of the Year Award.
• Jason King of Legal Shield was given the 2022 Volunteer of the Year Award.
• Outstanding Board Member of 2022 went to Rick Mohnk, of Bayhealth.
• The Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce Ambassador of the year was awarded to Erlene George on Thursday.

“There is a wealth of excellence here in central Delaware — and a great deal of it resides in the amazing things our members are doing each and every day. This annual event is set aside to celebrate the best of the best,” Dr. Venedetti said.

The chamber’s excellence in business awards are nominated and selected by the members of the chamber.

“We are always thrilled to name the winners of our Excellence in Business Awards — the Small Business of the Year, the Large Employer of the Year, and the Young Professional of the Year, but we want people to understand that it is a total win just to be nominated,” Dr. Vendetti said.

“The chamber has about 780 business members and each of those businesses has employees — out of all those companies and workers, nine were nominated as best by their fellow business colleagues. That, in and of itself, is a major victory.”

The 2022 Small Business of the Year Award was given to Tre Sorelle Dolce, ice cream and Italian ice, in Wyoming.
The 2022 Large Employer of the Year award was given to Dover Federal Credit Union.

The 2022 Young Professional of the Year honor was bestowed on Matt Bacon, executive sous chef at Roma Italian Restaurant on Thursday.

The Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce also held a graduation ceremony for its Leadership Central Delaware Class of 2022. Twenty-one members of the central Delaware community spent months learning about the region and leadership principles. That effort culminated in Thursday’s graduation event.