Amelia Island, FL – More than 300 Amelia Island-Fernandina Beach-Yulee Chamber of Commerce members and community leaders turned out to celebrate excellence by the local business community in 2011 during the Chamber’s Annual Awards Dinner Friday, January 13, at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation.

“The Annual Awards Dinner is a time for the Chamber to come together and not only look back at the accomplishments of the previous year, but also generate enthusiasm for the year ahead,” said 2012 Chamber Board of Directors Chairwoman Pamela Brown of Edward Jones Investments.

Sponsored by The Brumos Companies, Comcast Business Class, JetBlue and the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, the Annual Awards Dinner also included the presentation of an Honorary Lifetime Membership to Jim Mayo, past chairman of the Amelia Island-Fernandina Beach-Yulee Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

AIFBY 2011 Business Leader Jim Mayo retired from Baptist Medical Center Nassau at the end of 2011 after serving as hospital president since 1994. He also was named the 2011 Business Leader of the Year.

Thirty member businesses were nominated for 2011 business awards, while 15 members were nominated for 2011 individual awards.

Nominations for the Businesses of the Year, Customer Service Professional and Business Leaders awards were made by Chamber members and staff as well as members of the public. Winners were selected by vote of the Chamber Board of Directors. They were evaluated on how they fulfilled the Chamber’s mission to promote responsible economic growth, employment opportunities, government and excellence in education and quality of life.

The Annual Awards Dinner also included the presentation of awards honoring Chamber volunteers for their work on behalf of the organization.

*Ambassador of the Year Award, honoring a member of the Chamber’s corps of volunteer Ambassadors;
*Chairman’s Award, given to a Chamber Board of Directors member for outstanding service on behalf of the Chamber; and
*Dr. Harry Halley Bowtie Award for Distinguished Service, bestowed annually on a longtime Chamber supporter.

The 2011 Amelia Island-Fernandina Beach-Yulee Chamber of Commerce Award recipients are:

Ambassador of the Year: Linda Winston, Florida Public Utilities

AIFBY 2011 Chairman’s Award

Chairman’s Award: Bill Moore, Omni Amelia Island Plantation

Dr. Harry Halley Bowtie Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service: Janie Thomas, Shrimp Producers Association

Customer Service Professional of the Year: Renee Stoffel, Savannah Grand of Amelia Island

Large Business of the Year (25 employees or more)
The Home Depot

Medium Business of the Year (11-24 employees)
Pepper’s Mexican Grill & Cantina in Fernandina Beach

Small Business of the Year (10 employees or fewer)
The Hurst Company, CPAs, PA

Green Business of the Year
Advanced Disposal

Young Business Leader of the Year
Noelle Perry, The Hurst Company, CPAs, PA

Business Leader of the Year
Jim Mayo, Baptist Medical Center Nassau

Three outgoing Chamber Directors who completed their terms in 2011 also were honored at the event: Paul Audet of The Surf Restaurant & Bar, Phil Kelly of Amelia Islander Magazine and Sean McGill of McGill Aviation.

Donald J. Hughes, executive director of the Florida State College at Jacksonville Betty P. Cook Nassau Center, served as master of ceremonies for the Annual Awards.

Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Foundation, Amelia River Golf Club, Amelia Shotgun Sports, The Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach, Hampton Inn Amelia Island at Fernandina Beach, JetBlue, Kayak Amelia, Le Clos Restaurant, Old Towne Carriage Company, Omni Amelia Island Plantation, P5 Productions, Residence Inn Amelia Island, Sliders Seaside Grill and Whataburger donated drawing prizes given away at the Annual Awards Dinner.

B&B Graphic Designs created the award plaques. Mead’s Framery & Trophy Store created the Outgoing Director plaques. Additional support was provided by Amelia Island Graphics, Amelia Island Photo Art, AVT Event Technologies and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority.

Not pictured: 2011 Customer Service Professional of the Year, Renee Stoffel of Savannah Grand of Amelia Island; and Outgoing Chamber Director Paul Audet of The Surf Restaurant & Bar.

Mission Statement
The Amelia Island-Fernandina Beach-Yulee Chamber of Commerce is a membership-based association of Nassau County businesses, professional leaders and individuals working together to provide leadership which will aggressively promote and defend responsible economic growth, employment opportunities, government and excellence in education and quality of life.