Statesville Chamber honors Citizen of the Year, outstanding businesses at annual meeting (Photos)

United Way of Iredell County Executive Director Brett Eckerman (center) was honored as Citizen of the Year on Wednesday by the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce. Also pictured are Sara Helmick, Jody Taylor, Linda Wahlberg, Nicola Baker and Nancy Beard.

IFN Staff

It would be difficult to find an individual who has impacted more lives in more ways than United Way of Iredell County Executive Director Brett Eckerman.

Eckerman was honored as Citizen of the Year on Wednesday night at the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce’s Sage Awards & Annual Meeting.

Eckerman “has dedicated countless hours to making the community a better place, and he actively supports over 57 local organizations. He never seeks credit and is always at the heart of positive change. He embodies the heart of selfless leadership,” Nicholson Funeral Home’s Bill Brater said while presenting the award.

Eckerman said he was humbled to be recognized and quickly praised those who have worked alongside him through the United Way.

“The team at United Way, the volunteers and board members, the donors — thank you to all of you and the 57 agency partners and the thousands of people who get up every day and do the work. Being a small part of that work is the honor of a lifetime,” Eckerman said.

Sage Award Recipients

Other award recipients included:

♦ Business of the Year – Large Enterprise: Tim Johnson Landscaping

♦ Business of the Year – Small Enterprise: Animal Hospital of Statesville

♦ Community Impact Award: Boys & Girls Club of the Piedmont

♦ Ambassador of the Year: Ayana Pass

♦ The Launch Award: The Watering Hole

♦ Partners in Education Excellence: Crosby Scholars of Iredell County

♦ The Innovator Award: HunkaJunk Hauling

♦ Leader in Advocacy Excellence: Mountaire Farms

♦ Volunteer of the Year: John Childress

♦ Fusion Award: Statesville Historical Collection; Statesville Convention and Visitors Bureau; Dorothy Woodard; and the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission

♦ The Chairman’s Award: Denso; Iredell Health Systems; and Piedmont Healthcare.

Annual Meeting Highlights

Also during the meeting, Chamber President & CEO Shannon Viera highlighted some of the key work the organization and its partners have been involved in during the past year.

The Chamber updated its mission, Viera said, to drive business success, build strategic partnerships and connect people to opportunities.

She also highlighted partnerships with the Small Business Center at Mitchell Community College, the Iredell Ready initiative, and relationships with the Boys & Girls Club, Statesville Convention & Visitors Bureau and Downtown Statesville Development Corporation.

“We can transform the Chamber into a powerful conduit for the business community,” Viera said of the organization’s future goals.

Sage Awards Sponsor Denso’s John Brown also said the business future is bright for Iredell County thanks to partnerships with the Chamber, Iredell-Statesville Schools and Iredell Ready. It begins, he said, by understanding what businesses need in the workforce, especially in terms of STEM fields.

“We want to start that spark in students as early as we can, and we want to make Iredell County the best county in North Carolina,” he said.

The evening also featured a panel discussion with Lisa Familo, executive director of the Iredell Partnership for Young Children; Banner Drug owner John Childress and Piedmont HealthCare Director of Operations & Human Resources Jeff Taylor.

Familo warned that a growing childcare crisis will have huge impacts on Iredell County residents and businesses. A lack of a livable pay and benefits for early childhood educators, reduced care providers, and increased costs for quality care are all putting economic pressures on both families and employers, whose workers often miss shifts or leave the workforce due to lack of childcare.

“This is a community issue we can no longer afford to ignore,” she said. “This is not just a personal issue; it’s an economic one as well.”

Childress spoke about Leadership Statesville and how it has grown immensely in the nearly 40 years since it was created.

“This program is an investment in people and the companies that support the people in this community,” he said. “The program teaches leadership skills, how to be a better leader in their business and the community. It’s an investment in leaders.”

Taylor spoke about workforce development and economic development, and emphasized how important it is to start students thinking about career paths early.

“We want these kids to see that there are opportunities right here in Iredell County where they can get jobs and raise their families,” Taylor said. “We made a closer connection with businesses to tell us what they need.”

Outgoing Chamber Board Chairman Charles Ashe was honored for his service, thanked members for their support and noted that “the Chamber is a hub in our community that brings us all together.“

Ashe also honored Beth Packman and Skip Smith for their service on the Chamber Board.

Incoming Board Chairman Ron Matthews expressed that he was honored to serve the “dynamic business community” in the coming year.