Valdosta business community gathered for the 6^th Annual Chamber Choice Awards Thursdaynight at the Rainwater Conference Center. The event spotlights the city’s best and brightest, with awards given in five categories: Small Business of the Year, Members’ Choice, Young Professional of the Year, Ambassador of the Year and the BIG Thinker.

Small Business of the Year: Bush Wealth Management

This award recognizes a local business with 100 or fewer employees that exemplifies a high level of business integrity and ethics, and is selected by an independent panel of community leaders. There's nothing small about the impact that Bush Wealth Management has on this community. The financial services firm is dedicated to providing personalized plans to each of their clients, as well as making an impact on their community. This year, the growing company broke ground on their newest location which will open this fall.

Members’ Choice Award: South Georgia Medical Center

This award recognizes a business that excels in customer service as voted upon by Chamber member businesses. This year, 75 local businesses were nominated for the award, and South Georgia Medical Center rose to the top. The growing healthcare enterprise, SGMC, consists of four hospital serving a diverse population with a wide variety of services. The healthcare enterprise has been recognized on a local, state and national level for exceptional patient care in areas ranging from spine surgery to excellence in stroke and cancer care. 

Young Professional of the Year: Cindy Romero, Wild Adventures Theme Park

This award recognizes a young leader who has shown a quantifiable improvement to the bottom line of his/her business. Voted on by a panel of business leaders, Cindy Romero, Operations Manager at Wild Adventures Theme Park, was recognized as the 2015 winner. Cindy oversees more than 175 employees across multiple operating divisions at Wild Adventures, including Attractions and Park Services. She is responsible for the development of the organization’s successful “Stay and Play” program that helps to keep families engaged with the park all year long. She consistently evaluates operations of the business, finding ways to do more with less. 

Ambassador of the Year: Jerry Kozuch, South Georgia Vein Center

This award recognizes the Chamber Ambassador who has collected the highest number of points attributed to ribbon cuttings, ground breakings, Leading Business of the Week presentations and other Chamber volunteer functions. Jerry Kozuch sets standards high for what it means to be a Chamber Ambassador. She dedicates her time to ensuring that every event the Ambassadors attend is successful and memorable whether it involves stuffing envelopes or meeting and greeting members at events. Jerry has volunteered and assisted with more than 50 events in 2015.

BIG Thinker Award: Quillian Powell, Quillian Powell Construction Company Inc.

This award recognizes an outstanding community member to who has established his/her own business from the start of the venture and has made significant contributions to the community in the way of time, monetary donations, in-kind services, job creation, sales tax production or economic development initiatives. A leader in the community and a past chairman of the Chamber board, Quillian Powell is committed to making this community better. Powell established his company, Quillian Powell Construction Company, Inc., in June of 1987 and incorporated it in August of 1987. For nearly 30 years, Powell has practiced honesty and integrity in his work ethic, and that is the premise that his company runs on.

All award recipients received engraved trophies and were invited to address the crowd. Attendees were swooned by The Backstreet Blazers, a local group of skilled musicians who put a contemporary twist on timeless classics. For photos of the event, visit the Chamber’s Flickr page.