By Jill Nagy<\/p>\n
Michael Bittel, president and CEO of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce said \u201cthis just blew me away\u201d when his organization was named this year\u2019s winner of the Henry Crandall Award.<\/span><\/p>\n The award was presented by the Crandall Public Library on Oct. 13. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am humbled that the entire team has been recognized,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n The Crandall Award recognized the organization for its activities throughout the COVID pandemic, including providing accurate information in a timely manner and encouraging connections between businesses and government entities, including assistance in accessing government relief programs such as the Paycheck Protection Plan, the Small Business Administration, and recommendations from state and federal health agencies.<\/span><\/p>\n The breakfast meeting at the Queensbury Hotel, where the award was presented, is also a major fundraiser for the library, which hopes to raise more than $40,000 to help support its programs and services.<\/span><\/p>\n Bittel\u2019s team\u2014Tricia Rogers, Amanda Blanton, Carole Ann Conover, and Karen Mattison\u2014has been working full-time throughout the pandemic, some of them in the Chamber\u2019s offices and others from home. Bittel said it is the first time that the award has recognized an entire team rather than an individual. <\/span><\/p>\n Bittel thanked his team and the 21 members of the chamber\u2019s board of directors, as well as its and its 23 \u201cambassadors,\u201d volunteers who help get out the word about chamber events.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cThe community as a whole came together as one in these difficult times,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n The ARCC has been in existence for more than a century as an advocate for businesses in the Adirondack region. <\/span><\/p>\n Bittel has been president and CEO of the chamber for three and a half years.<\/span><\/p>\n Past recipients of the award include the late Judge Richard J. Bartlett of Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart & Rhodes law firm; Christopher Scoville, former owner of Scoville Jewelers and Glens Falls advocate; state Sen. Betty Little; retired Warren County Family Court Judge John Austin; Ed Moore,Sr., owner of French Mountain Commons, Log Jam Outlets, and the Queensbury Hotel; Sally and Tom Hoy, past Crandall Public Library Trustee and retired Arrow Financial Corp. and Glens Falls National Bank CEO; retired State Supreme Court Justice David Krogmann; Dr. Kathleen Braico, co-founder of Adirondack Pediatrics; and Mark Behan, president and founder of Behan Comminutions.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jill Nagy Michael Bittel, president and CEO of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce said \u201cthis just blew me away\u201d when his organization was named this year\u2019s winner of the Henry Crandall Award. The award was presented by the Crandall Public Library on Oct. 13. \u201cI am humbled that the entire team has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n