Bethlehem Chamber’s 26th Annual Awards Dinner set for April 29
There will be four people lining up for three awards at the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Awards Dinner at the end of the month.
Clutching the Business Person of the Year Award will be Brendan McCann and Daniel Casey, co-owners of the Perfect Blend Cafe and Make Me a Cake Next Door at the Four Corners in Delmar. Receiving the Community Spirit Award will be Derek Martin, executive director of the Bethlehem YMCA, and the Citizen of the Year Award will be given to Melissa Stewart for her varied community involvement.
This will be the chamber’s 26th Annual Awards Dinner, but the first for new President Jennifer Kilcoyne. Though her tenure is just getting underway, she said she’s excited to present this slate of award winners.
I think that each of them has definitely made a significant contribution to the Bethlehem community, she said, adding that there was a fair amount of interest in the awards this year during the nominations process.
A Perfect Blend for success
A few years ago, Casey and McCann had the same conversation many young friends might have: let’s take out passions and go into business. And in late 2008, they followed through by opening Perfect Blend.
Since then, the coffee shop has flourished even in this dicey economy by offering the community what it wants: good food, good coffee and a relaxed atmosphere.
At least one of the two owners can usually be found behind the counter, greeting customers and slinging fair trade coffee.
`We look at it as everybody is family,` Casey said. `We don’t look at them as customers anymore.`
For the past year, the duo have also been spending time at their spinoff business, Make Me a Cake Next Door (located adjacent to the Perfect Blend, appropriately). They scooped it up after another bakery operation vacated the premises.
Now, the business is spinning up for a busy wedding cake season, but also satisfies drop-in customers with treats like cake pops.
`Now that we’ve been here a year, people know about it,` McCann said.
Perfect Blend is also undergoing some minor renovations. There are plans to have outdoor musical performances this spring and summer and to continue making changes to the menu. Perfect Blend already offers a wide range of gluten-free foods and other unique concoctions.
First months fruitful at Y
When Derek Martin left his job in financing last November to take over as head of the Bethlehem YMCA, he had big plans. Now, just five months later, he’s already ticked off some major achievements.
`I took the opportunity to take this position at the Y and really went at it with vigor,` he said. `The board and the staff really kind of bought in to our vision here, and we’ve really been productive in the short time that I’ve been working here.`
Martin has collaborated with the Guilderland YMCA (where he has been involved for years) to bring the Circle of Champs program to Bethlehem, which works to bring special programs to children with conditions like leukemia. Recently, Circle kids attended an Albany Devils game in a luxury box donated by the Bank of America.
The Y is also coordinating with the BC School District to run an `I Can` program, a combination of athletic and academic training for high school students.
But Martin still has plenty to do. He wants to greatly expand the branch’s reach-out to youth and raise $90,000 this year to bring programs and memberships to those kids who can’t otherwise afford them. Last year, $64,000 was raised and helped 3,500 people.
`I certainly couldn’t do it alone, we really have a tremendous staff here, we have a tremendous board that’s supported not just me, but our vision,` Martin said.
Mom makes a little time for everything
Melissa Stewart, who later this month with receive the chamber’s Citizen of the Year Award, is modest about her achievements, but her activities serve as a perfect example of what community involvement is all about.
A mother of two with a job at the information agency Thomson Reuters, Stewart spends her free time co-coaching a Bethlehem Tomboys softball team, helping to organize the Eagle Elementary Lip Sync concert and working on the April Challenge, a month-long personal health and fitness project for kids and adults that also raises money for charities.
She’s adamant that despite her presence in so many facets of the community, she’s just one part of a larger picture.
`There are many, many, active involved parents here in Bethlehem,` she said. `I’m just one example of so many parents here.`
Stewart said she’s always thought the town is a great place to live, citing the involvement of parents in their kids’ lives, going to far as to volunteer in classrooms.
`I think having so many parents actively involved makes Bethlehem a really great place for a kid to grow up in,` she said.
This year’s Awards Dinner will be held at the Cyprus Shrine Banquet Hall in Glenmont, from 6 to 10 p.m., on Friday, April 29. Invitations have gone out, but this year the event will be open to the public. Dinner reservations are $55 per person or $400 for a table of eight. For more information, visit www.bethlehemchamber.com.
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