Sammamish Chamber holds first-ever Business Awards Luncheon

It was as if the Oscars had come to the Sahalee Country Club on Thursday when the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce held its first-ever Business Awards Luncheon.

Four local businesses, three volunteers and the four retiring Sammamish City Council members were honored for their hard work and community spirit with commemorative plaques and heartfelt words at the lunchtime ceremony.

Chamber Director Deb Sogge, chamber board President Craig Doty and board Secretary Jenni Butz presented the awards.

Best New Business

Mark Marsh, store director of the new Metropolitan Market, won the award for Best New Business. Sogge said that the award goes to a business that supports the community and chamber, and works to implement best practices every day. She noted that the new grocery store, which opened in March, reached out immediately to help support two large chamber events, the Sammamish Farmers Market and Sammamish Nights.

“They are constantly striving to offer local products that are important to our residents,” she said. “Mark is quick to join chamber ambassadors in supporting local business by attending grand openings and having a positive influence on surrounding business neighbors. This business is a new rock star in Sammamish.”

“I’ve been with a lot of grocery stores in my time and dealt with a lot of chambers, and the embrace here … has been absolutely amazing,” Marsh said as he accepted his award.

Best Business Person

Alan Finkelstein, who owns four local McDonald’s restaurants, including the Sammamish restaurant on 228th Avenue, was named Best Business Person. Butz noted that Finkelstein “hires local kids” to work for him and donates generously to the Sammamish Farmers Market.

Sogge added that he raises money for Sammamish schools at the McTeacher Night fundraiser and “donates meals to hundreds of needy families on the Eastside through the Hope Festival each year.”

The award was the second of its kind this year for the local VIP, who also won the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year Award at the Issaquah Community Awards in May.

“I’ve been at McDonald’s for 46 years — it’s not a dead-end job,” Finkelstein joked at the luncheon. He went on to say that whenever he opens a new McDonald’s, his first mission has been to join the local chamber, which is something that “typically big box stores don’t [do].”

“This is the best chamber I’ve belonged to,” he said.

Best Small Business

Family to Family Adult Senior Care received the award for Best Small Business. The facility has grown from six to 14 beds, and provides seniors with a comforting and family-like community in which to spend their last years.

“Their growth is serving the Sammamish community by offering seniors a warm and caring home that they can live, convalescence and truly live out their end of life in comfort,” Sogge said.

Manuela Paul, who directs the facility with her husband, stated as she accepted the award that “being part of the chamber has helped me in so many ways.”

This exchange of help goes both ways, since, as Paul noted, “Deb has supported me, and we had the chance to take care of her aunt” at Family to Family.

“We love what we do, taking care of seniors,” she said.

Best Farmers Market Volunteer

Larry Crandall was named Best Sammamish Farmers Market Volunteer. Crandall goes around the market each week, taking count of attendees for the chamber every 30 minutes.

“You can see him with a positive smile on his face at the market every week,” Sogge said. “We couldn’t do it without you … We love your commitment and devotion.”

Crandall showed evidence of his positive attitude at the luncheon; when an accident resulted in his suit being covered in soda, he simply laughed off the incident.

“I might be the counter, but the folks in this room and the ones who come to the market are the ones who count,” he said.

Best Sammamish Nights Volunteer

The award for Best Sammamish Nights Volunteer went to Glynis Matula. Doty said that Matula, who is a board member, “took the bull by the horns” with organizing the Sammamish Nights silent auction by herself.

“I think she visited every business in town,” he said.

Matula laughed that it was her first time ever attending Sammamish Nights, and added that she was “totally humbled and honored” to receive the award.

“Every single business in Sammamish gave me something [for the auction],” she said. “It just shows how much Deb has been building this chamber.”

President’s Award

Doty, who works as retail banking manager at Opus Bank in Sammamish, was honored with the President’s Award for his year as board president and three years on the board. He has volunteered as traffic director, in the information booth and as greeter at the farmers market, and as an “all-serving volunteer” at Sammamish Nights.

Doty has been capable of wearing both his chamber and his work hats, Sogge said, as he has “been available for business decisions at his local Opus Bank.”

“Craig is respected as manager of this local bank and as a friendly business associate to many in our community,” Sogge said.

Doty will be leaving Sammamish, as the Opus Bank is closing. Sogge told the crowd that Doty lives in Port Orchard and has rented in Sammamish during the workweek.

“For someone who commuted from afar, it was amazing how much he was able to give Sammamish,” she said. “His positive service will be missed by many.”

City Council Awards

Retiring City Council members Don Gerend, Kathy Huckabay, Tom Odell and Bob Keller, who is currently the mayor of Sammamish, received Lifetime Membership Awards.

“Their collaborative efforts to bring business and city together has resulted in a partnership between the chamber of commerce and the city of Sammamish,” Sogge said. “The beginning of forming policy in our new city was a daunting task and Sammamish was seen as a sleepy bedroom community with little attention to business. These four council people have worked with chamber people to be sure that the local businesses have a voice and are recognized for their grand openings.”

Gerend was especially recognized with a Ribbon Cutting Champion Award for attending the most ribbon cuttings at new businesses in his time as mayor.

“It has been the most wonderful experience of my life,” Huckabay said. “Not many people see a city go from a storefront … [to a place] people all around the world want to come to.”

“The chamber is a great asset to the city,” Odell said. “You guys are the heart of the town.”

Mark Marsh of Metropolitan Market accepts the award for Best New Business. Nicole Jennings/staff photo

Alan Finkelstein receives the award for Best Business Person from Jenni Butz. Nicole Jennings/staff photo

Chamber Director Deb Sogge, left, presents Family to Family Director Manuela Paul, right, with the award for Best Small Business. Nicole Jennings/staff photo

Sogge gives outgoing chamber board President Craig Doty, left, the President’s Award for his time with the chamber. He wears a traffic safety vest to symbolize his volunteer work as a traffic director at the Sammamish Farmers Market. Nicole Jennings/staff photo