Eagle Times Staff
The Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce has named its 2023 Member and Volunteer of the Year.
The honors were announced during the Chamber’s 66th annual meeting at Seesaw’s Lodge.
Glenn Heitsmith, of the Timber Inn Motel in Ludlow, was awarded the 2023 Member of the Year in recognition of his 2022 Travelers’ Choice award from Trip Advisor, ranking in the top 10% of hotels worldwide.
Timber Inn was previously the Chamber member of the month for its “Loved By Guests” Award from Hotels.com. Heitsmith also recently served as moderator for the chamber’s Legislative Forum. In addition, he is also an active community member with organizations such as the Ludlow Rotary Club.
Amy Messina, of Town & Country Realty in Ascutney, was selected as a 2023 Volunteer of the Year for her efforts as the chair of the Chamber’s Membership Committee helping to recruit many new members.
Messina also serves on the Chamber’s board of directors. In addition, she helped secure speakers for last year’s annual meeting and recruited State Treasurer Mike Pieciak to participate in the annual Legislative Forum.
Messina is the past president of the Windsor County Board of Realtors and has served on the Vermont Council on Domestic Violence.
Featured speaker Mike Lannon of Eternity discussed the use of artificial intelligence to improve website search engine optimization and marketing.
Vermont Chamber of Commerce Betsy Bishop updated members on the impacts of the recent legislative session on the business community and Golden Stage Inn co-owner Mike Wood, a CPA, also informed attendees about the Employee Retention Tax Credit.
The slate of officers and directors for 2023-24 was unanimously approved. Jason Rasmussen of the Mount Ascutney Regional Commission is joining the Chamber board with Allison Hopkins as an alternate. Art Randolph of M&T Bank was elected as the new treasurer and Anna Tumber of Okemo was elected as the new secretary. Scott Duffy of Rockledge Farm Woodworks was thanked for his service on the board.
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