MINT HILL, NC – In May of this year, the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce launched a new program to honor member businesses that support the Chamber’s mission of promoting and collaborating with other businesses to cultivate a growing and connected community.

The idea for the Business of the Month Award grew from a small group of Ambassadors who wanted to find ways to engage new members with the Chamber and keep current members involved.  When determining the the nomination criteria for the award, the group – composed of Paige McKinney (Chamber of Commerce Executive Director), Anna Granger (1st Choice Properties), Madi McKinney (Primis, formerly SeaTrust), Melissa Tamez (Bright Blessings) and Dawn Leavesley (Messer Financial Group) – took a deep dive into the Chamber’s mission statement, discussing what concepts like collaboration, engagement, culture, connectivity and promotion look like in action.

Each month, the Chamber’s Ambassadors meet to select the Business of the Month.  They look for a member that collaborates and with the Chamber, volunteering both time and resources to support its mission, a business that fully engages with the Chamber, taking advantage of benefits and actively seeing out ways to promote the Chamber with current and future members and the Mint Hill Community at large.

The first Business of the Month award was presented to Gary Wojciechowicz from Tactical Pest.  “It was a great honor to be selected the first business of the month for our chamber!” said Wojciechowicz. “The fact that there  are so many fine businesses in our chamber makes being  the first recipient truly special! The response from members of the community has been awesome and we appreciate all of the positive exposure from the award! We also had lots of wonderful feedback from our customers. The whole experience has just further solidified the value of our chamber membership!”

In June, the award went to Wil Lawson – better known as “Mint Hill Wil – from State Farm.  “Wil was nominated by the Ambassador Team for his involvement with the different aspects of the chamber,” explains McKinney.  “He’s an active ambassador.  He supports our golf tournament, and our spring tea.  He not only served at the Tea but also sponsored a table and treated his team to come and have a great day.  He is one of our members that is always referring other members; he really wants to connect active members with other active members in our community.” 

The Business of the Month is recognized at their place of business with signage that is displayed for the month of their recognition, and they’re highlighted in numerous places: the Chamber newsletter, the Mint Hill Times, and on the Chamber’s social media.  Moreover, all twelve Business of the Month winners become nominees for the Chamber’s Business Partner of the Year, the single member organization that stands out in their support of the Chamber’s mission for the year.

Congratulations to Tactical Pest and Mint Hill Wil on being awarded Business of the Month.  Read about future award recipients right here in the Mint Hill Times!