Granby Chamber Awards Presented

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The new Board of Directors for the Granby-Simsbury Chamber of Commerce, chartered on June 1.

The Granby Chamber of Commerce held its last Annual Meeting and Awards ceremony on May 26 at Simsbury Farms in conjunction with the Simsbury Chamber of Commerce event. The Board of Directors of the newly merged Chambers was introduced. The new organization was incorporated on June 1 as the Granby-Simsbury Chamber of Commerce.

Outgoing President Bob Marx presented four awards on behalf of the Granby Chamber, including a Distinguished Service recognition to retired Chamber Administrator John French; Businesspersons of the Year to brothers Harold (Hal) Pierce Jr. and Brian Pierce of Pierce Builders; New Business of the Year to Sarah Cowles-Gentile of The Whisk; and Humanitarian of the Year to Ginny Wutka of Lost Acres Orchards.

Brothers Hal Pierce Jr. (age 60) and Brian (age 57) were given the newly named Mike Guarco Sr. Business Person of the Year award, named in honor of the late owner of State Line Oil who helped charter the Granby Chamber in 1968. One of Mike Guarco’s Chamber collaborators was his good friend Hal Pierce Sr., who founded Pierce Builders in the 1960s and incorporated the Granby-based construction company in 1976. Building mostly in Granby, Simsbury, Avon and Suffield, the company expanded into large excavation projects and is currently doing the excavation work for the new Amazon facility near Bradley Airport and two FedEx facilities in Massachusetts.

Other projects include Oakridge Dairy Farm in Ellington, Dorset Crossing Apartments in Simsbury, the Coca-Cola facility in South Windsor and the Amazon distribution center in Schodack, N.Y. The company also owns and leases several properties in the region, from homes and condos to Day Care centers and a Medical Center.

Both Brian and Hal Jr. graduated from Granby Memorial High School and Brian is a past President of the Granby Chamber of Commerce. At the Awards ceremony, Chamber past president and Mike’s daughter, Mary Anne Guarco, accepted the award on behalf of the Pierce brothers who were unable to attend.

Ginny Wutka was honored as Humanitarian of the Year for her unwavering support of seniors, needy families and youth groups in the Granby community. During the pandemic, Ginny sought out people who were fragile or insecure, and offered her help to organizations like Waste Not Want Not.

A pillar in the Granby community, Ginny has served selflessly on the Board of Education, The Civic Club and the Salmon Brook Historical Society Board. She has spearheaded fund raisers, promoted land trusts and worked on education foundations funding the arts programs at our schools. She has taught classes on every level in the schools and often employs students at Lost Acres Orchards, where she keeps a glass tip jar on the counter. Those tips do not go to her staff, but instead to community members in need.

For Granby’s new business of the year, the Chamber Awards committee selected The Whisk, a catering company that started offering complete take-home meals prior to the start of Covid, thus keeping residents both sane and well fed during uncertain times. The company’s owner, Sarah Cowles-Gentile, hails from nearby Granville and East Hartland. A trained accountant, Sarah started working at The Whisk in 2002 as an accounting clerk for its former owner Jay Ginewsky. The catering company was then located in Collinsville. While working for Jay, Sarah learned the ins and outs of catering and became active in party planning and meal preparation. In 2015 Jay retired and Sarah took over as the owner of The Whisk, then located in West Hartford.

In 2017 Sarah moved the business to Granby, where she has resided since 2011 with husband Jonathan and their two children. Sarah became involved with scouting, youth football and other local organizations, including the Granby Chamber. Through the pandemic, Sarah has expanded the pickup dinner menu and added special holiday meals so families can stay safe and enjoy a catered dinner at home.

John French has been involved in the Granby Chamber since the late 1990s when he was running the Edward Jones office in Granby. In 2001 he was nominated for the Chamber Board of Directors and four years later he succeeded Bob Marx as Chamber President. As chairman of the newly formed Marketing committee, John was tasked with a fundraising project that resulted in the highly successful Giddy Up to Granby painted horse project. Ultimately the project raised more than $90,000 when 42 painted horses were auctioned off in 2006. John also recommended moving the town’s signature event, Celebrate Granby, from the center of town to the much larger Salmon Brook Park. In 2003 Celebrate Granby in the Park was born. Fast forward to 2015 when John was planning to retire from Merrill Lynch. The Granby Chamber needed a new paid Administrator and John was hired for the job. John was able to grow the membership, upgrade our website and work with social media. After six years as administrator, John is now stepping down as the new merger with Simsbury opens up a new chapter.

Chamber President Bob Marx presents the New Business of the Year Award to Sarah Cowles-Gentile of The Whisk
Mary Anne Guarco accepts the Mike Guarco Sr. Business Person of the Year Award on behalf of Brian and Hal Pierce Jr. of Pierce Builders
Chamber President Bob Marx presents a Distinguished Service Award to retired Chamber Administrator John French Submitted photos