The capacity crowd at the Sault Area Chamber of Commerce 121^st annual banquet and awards dinner enjoyed a great evening of fun and entertainment. Guest speaker, NASA Astronaut Charles Hobaugh thrilled the audience with a presentation detailing his experiences as Commander on the Space Shuttle Atlantis’ November, 2009 mission.

The eventful evening continued with the recognition of local businesses through the Chamber’s annual business awards. The F.M. Mansfield Business Award 2009, named in honor of past Chamber director, F.M. “Bud” Mansfield, was presented to Frank’s Place Restaurant.

The F.M. Mansfield Award recognizes local businesses for their contributions to the community. Such contributions include their commitments of time, talent and resources, demonstrations of community support, civic participation and business innovation and job creation.

After 22 years of business, Frank’s Place has become famous for their homemade meals, especially their bread and soups! Frank and Marta LaLonde purchased the building in 1988 from Charlie Rossini working for many years to build their restaurant into the well known traditional family restaurant it has become.

Frank and Marta operate the restaurant with their daughter, Dawn Bumstead, and are proud to support various local organizations. Always keeping an eye open for ways to help the community, Marta enjoys assisting various non-profit organizations.

The Historic Business Award honors those businesses with a long-term commitment to Chippewa County. To be eligible for this award, businesses must have been in operation for more than 25 years. This year’s award winner, Neville’s Superette, is truly a local landmark.

Neville’s, currently owned and operated by Ed and Wendy Cook, has been in their current location since Jerry and Margaret Neville built the store in 1955. After Jerry passed away, Bob Cook (Ed’s father) managed the store for Margaret prior to his purchasing the store in 1975. Other than his time in the U.S. military, Bob spent his career at Neville’s passing the family legacy over to his son Ed in 1989.

Ed and Wendy Cook continue to operate the grocery store with the same sense of commitment to the community. Neville’s Superette is a long-time supporter of many local youth organizations, trying to fill needs wherever they can. Ed and Wendy are proud to continue the family tradition at Neville’s and receive great joy in serving the many generations of Sault families that continue to visit the store.

Prior Awardees: