Triad Local First celebrates businesses and artisans

Triad Local First award recipients (L-R): Afrique and Vickie Kilimanjaro with the Carolina Peacemaker- Longevity Award; Paige Cox and Patena Bergvin with Reconsidered Goods- Endurance Award; and Ronda and Chris Szymanski with Salt and Soul- New Business Award.
Photo by Ivan Saul Cutler/Carolina Peacemaker.

Triad Local First, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and strengthening local independent business owners, held its 11th Annual Community Table on Sunday, Oct. 9, at Summerfield Farms. The event featured a cocktail hour, silent auction, dinner and desserts, and an awards presentation. This year’s Community Table Chairperson was Cheryl Pressley.

Award recipients were as follows:

• Paige Cox with Reconsidered Goods, a nonprofit creative reuse center received the Endurance Award, primarily for her organization’s ability to relocate and re-open during the COVID pandemic.
• Chris and Rhonda Szymanski, owners of Salt and Soul, received the New Business Award. Salt and Soul is a natural wellness company established by the Szymanski family during the pandemic in March of 2020.
• Carolina Peacemaker publishers Afrique and Vickie Kilimanjaro received the Longevity Award from Triad Local First for the newspaper’s 55 years of publishing community news.
• Kathryn Hubert was recognized for her café’s “mission of community and inclusion by training and employing adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” Hubert is the owner and chef of Chez Genèse, a downtown Greensboro café founded in October 2018.

The membership of Triad Local First is comprised of more than “360 local businesses members – including retail shops, real estate agents, manufacturers, builders, insurance brokers, marketing and advertising firms, accountants, dentists, restaurants, farmers, breweries and more.” Members of its board are: Jöel Hage, president; Wayne Abraham, secretary; Johnny Alston, treasurer; Cheryl Pressley, Community Table Chair; Amy Klug, Dr. Cory Hillman and Sakina Pritchett. Tracy Lamothe is the executive director of Triad Local First.

To become a member of Triad Local First, visit the organization’s website: https://www.triadlocalfirst.org/.