Lee Chamber of Commerce Recognizes Outstanding Individuals
Rockwell Museum's marketing officer Margit Hotchkiss and philanthropy officer Hilary Dunne Ferrone accept the award on Laurie Norton Moffatt's behalf.
The awards were presented to John Toole, Kathleen DeVarennes, Laurie Norton Moffatt, Susie Brown and Joshua Bloom at the chamber's annual meeting held at Greenock Country Club.
"We have the special honor of recognizing outstanding individuals and organizations whose dedication, leadership and generosity make Lee such a remarkable place to live, work and visit," said Executive Director Alexandra Heddinger. "Each of our award recipients embodies the spirit of community and service that makes our town so special."
Toole, president of Acrisure/Toole Insurance, was named Corporate Citizen of the Year.
"John played a key role in major projects that truly shaped our downtown from the Franklin Street parking lot, which solved decades-old challenges to the redevelopment of the Bookless Block, which gave Main Street a much needed facelift and new life," said chamber Vice President Erik Williams. "John continues to look ahead with the same energy and commitment championing projects like the Eagle Mill redevelopment, the reuse of our historic paper mills and even the creation of the Lee bike path, always with an eye towards a stronger future for Lee."
Toole said he is very proud to represent Lee and that he had great parents who raised him to help people.
DeVarennes is past chamber director and was honored with the Distinguished Service Award. She taught at the Lee Elementary School for 35 years and also was a key volunteer who helped the farmers' market to grow and prosper, also by earning eligibility for SNAP and HIP food programs.
"Under her leadership, the market became a welcoming hub for neighbors and visitors, and she worked tirelessly to make it accessible to all by securing snap and hit eligibility for local families and seniors," Williams said. "After retiring from teaching, Kathy continued her service as executive director of the Lee Chamber of Commerce. Did a great job during that time, and during her tenure, she helped to restore chamber membership to pre-COVID levels, re-engage downtown businesses and secured state funding to revitalize the visitors booth and gardens. Through her energy, optimism and deep love for Lee, she helped re-establish the chamber as a true community cornerstone."
DeVarennes, in accepting the award, said she was happy to see one of her former kindergarten students at the event.
"It's just important to be part of a community, and Lee is an amazing community, and I'm blessed to be part of it, and I'm blessed to, you know, give my time to make it better and make people feel appreciated and welcomed in and noticed. And thank you. This means a lot to me," she said.
Norton Moffat is the longtime director of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge who plans to retire next year. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award for "Contributions to the Natural Landscape of the Berkshires."
"As director of the Norman Rockwell Museum, Laurie has spent more than four decades elevating the museum and the work of Norman Rockwell to worldwide recognition," Williams said. "She oversaw the construction of the museum's current home, organized over 240 exhibitions of renowned illustrators, expanded the collection of Rockwell originals to 1,000 and facilitated the acquisition of 25,000 additional works, all while ensuring the museum remained deeply connected to the Berkshires and its sense of community, creativity and place."
Brown is senior vice president of human resources at Lee Bank. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the Lee community. Her award was accepted by Lee Bank branch manager Shelly Bombardier.
Brown has been with Lee Bank for 38 years and supports many programs throughout the community. She started out as a bank teller in high school with plans for nursing school, but ended up finding her true calling.
"One of the projects closest to Susie's heart is the Kiwanis Club's 'stuff the truck' food drive now held in the bank's prominent parking lot," Williams said. "Thanks to her efforts, she has also supported countless youth programs, local nonprofits and community fundraisers, including car washes for the high school sports teams, instilling values of generosity and civic pride in the next generation."
The final award of the night was the Volunteer of the Year, which was given to Bloom, who has been volunteering in the community for over five years.
"He has led efforts on issues ranging from the PCB landfill to civil rights awareness, launched the popular Lee community forum on Facebook, contributed to the Housatonic Rest of the River committee, served on the Lee Youth Commission and championed projects like the Lee skate park expansion and Ninja Fit playground," Williams said. "He also brought Lee's first ever Pride event to town this past June, addressing concerns about homophobia and helping make sure the community is more inclusive."
Bloom said he was grateful for the award and spoke about some of the events he has planned in the community and encouraged people to volunteer. He said the Lee Youth Commission is in need of volunteers especially for the upcoming skating rink.
"There are many ways in which I've been involved with the town, and it feels as though this is an opportunity, not just to highlight what I have done, but an opportunity to say, the town and the vhamber really support volunteerism, and there are many opportunities for people to get more involved in this town and to celebrate the ways in which we could come together," Bloom said.
Tags: annual meeting, chamber of commerce, recognition event,
