Reed-Lallier Chevrolet Wins Business of the Year

--Contributed by Brandon Plotnick, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce--

Mike Lallier and the crew from Reed-Lallier Chevrolet certainly had cause for celebration Friday night, as the car dealership was named the Fayetteville Regional Chamber's 2012 Business of the Year at our Annual Awards Dinner at the Embassy Suites Fayetteville/Fort Bragg.

Lallier also took home an individual honor, as he received the Chamber's Realtor Cup award, presented by the Fayetteville Regional Association of Realtors. The Realtor Cup honors a member of the business community for their role in the civic, industrial and cultural growth of the region.

For Business of the Year, Reed-Lallier took top honors, with two other outstanding local businesses joining the dealership as finalists. The Fayetteville SwampDogs baseball team and Kidsville News, an educational newspaper produced by Bill Bowman of Up & Coming Weekly, were also finalists.

Reed-Lallier had a banner year both in sales and in community impact, both of which were integral in the voting done by a volunteer panel of members of our business community.

Patty Collie received the Chamber's annual Athena Award. Collie, a financial adviser was honored for her role in advancing women in the workplace, and for her civic impact on the community. She serves as co-chair for the Women's Giving Circle of Cumberland County and chair of Connections of Cumberland County.

The Chairman's Award was given this year to Chris Bostock. Bostock served as the Chamber's board president for two years and then stepped up to the plate to take over as board chair for the new Economic Development Alliance board. Bostock has gone above and beyond in his volunteerism for the Chamber and was an easy selection for the award.

Ben Chambers won the Fayetteville Young Professionals Award, and although he couldn't be there to accept the award, he delivered a moving video message thanking his family and friends from a mission trip in Haiti.

Lynne Grates was named as the Military Affairs Council Outstanding Volunteer Award winner. And Dawn Driggers was honored with the Trailblazer Award for her work on the Hope VI revitalization project.