Page 13 - Montcross Are Chamber NCG 2026

65TH ANNUAL
Power company workers, a dynamic
Chamber Awards leadership duo and a devoted public
servant were all honored at Montcross Area
Celebration Chamber’s 65th annual awards celebration.

T he Chamber annually presents a Business of the Year Duke Energy Line and Service Personnel
1
Business of the Year Award
Award, an EPIC Award for entrepreneurial excellence
and the Harley B. Gaston, Jr. Public Service Award to
recognize extraordinary community service. The award
Carolina in September 2024. Yet there were people working in
is named for an attorney and judge who was a founder of the Hurricane Helene devastated much of Western North
Chamber in 1960. shifts day and night to restore power for more than 1.4 million
people, often sleeping in their trucks or in makeshift areas.
These are the Duke Energy Line and Service workers who set
1 poles, hung transformers and restored power lines – turning
the lights on for many who were picking up the pieces of their
lives and livelihoods.

2 EPIC Award
Former Montcross Area Chamber President Ted Hall and
Vice President Teresa Rankin
The two people who created the EPIC Award in 2011
received it this year. Ted Hall and Teresa Rankin conceptualized
the EPIC Award to encourage and support entrepreneurs. EPIC
is the acronym for Entrepreneurial, Progressive, Innovative and
Collaborative. Ted and Teresa worked together for 13 years
before their retirement in 2020. Their era saw the Chamber’s
membership expand to more than 500 business members,
2 setting a standard for sustained leadership.
3 Harley B. Gaston, Jr. Public Service Award
The late Belmont Mayor Richard Turner
Mayor Turner passed away in July after a brief illness. His
wife Marie accepted the award in his honor. It is named for
a founder of the Chamber who was an attorney, judge and
county commissioner.
Before running for Belmont City Council and ultimately
voted into the mayor’s seat, Richard Turner served in several
community organizations, including Boy Scout Troop 56 at
First United Methodist Church, Belmont Central School PTO,
Historic Belmont Foundation and Belmont Historical Society.
His services to the City of Belmont included work on the
Planning & Zoning Board, Parks & Recreation Board, Council
on Government, Travel & Tourism Authority and the Gaston-
3 Lincoln-Cleveland Metropolitan Planning Organization. He
represented Belmont on the Safe Roads to Schools Initiative,
on the Technical Advisory Committee on Transportation
Issues. In 2024, he was presented an award for his service on
the NC League of Municipalities Board of Directors.
In nominating Richard Turner, a fellow Gaston County mayor
wrote, “The City of Belmont and Gaston County are truly better
places from his efforts, his wisdom and his number of years of
public service.”
The Chamber Board of Directors thanks everyone who
attended this milestone evening and for your continued
support as we unite with businesses and communities we
serve, providing leadership and programs to grow
our economy.

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MontcrossAreaChamber.com Chamber Award Winners