Chamber honors local leaders

    WATKINS GLEN—The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce honored several area residents and business owners with awards at the 123rd annual celebration, Friday, Jan. 13.
    Doug Hazlitt and his sister Leigh Triner were presented with the Leader in Business Award. The two had to have made a dynamic contribution to the Schuyler County business community within the last decade; expanded the business mix in Schuyler; continue to foster economic opportunity; must have assumed considerable risk; and be highly respected entrepreneurs.
    The Lifetime Achievement Award went to John Senka, whose son John Senka Jr. accepted the award because his father could not attend that night. Senka read a note from his father, saying he was happy to be part of helping better the county.
    The Community Spirit Award was given to Ken Wilson. The criteria includes demonstrated leadership and excellence in philanthropy; must have encouraged civic initiatives, and/or facilitated humanitarianism; and positively impacted the community.
    The final award of the evening, the Max Neal Award was given to Debra Whiting for her contributions to the county. Whiting passed away after a car accident last year. Her husband, Dave, accepted the award on his wife’s behalf. In accepting the award for Debra, Dave said “we tried to make this a great place to live.” He added it wasn’t done by just Debra or himself, but but by all of them.