Locals Honored at Otsego County Chamber of Commerce Dinner
By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
ONEONTA
More than a hundred local movers and shakers gathered at the annual see-and-be-seen meeting and awards dinner of the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce this past Thursday, November 13. Held at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center, the chamber named the Susquehanna Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as Small Business of the Year; presented Worms Waste Not the Breakthrough Business Award; named Chrissie Sonnenberg of Get Fresh on the Main as Chamber Member of the Year; and presented Frank Russo the Community Leadership Award.
The chamber also confirmed new leaders to its board: Gail Glover of Hartwick College; Joan MacDonald of Helios Care; Bill Dorritie of Laurens Central School; April Erkson of Otsego Northern Catskills BOCES; Joan Fox, a realtor; Natalie Hooper of The Grand Healthcare; Adam Halay of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum; and Gabrielle Argo of Bassett Healthcare Network.
“All of them share a common trait,” Sean Lewis, the chamber president, said of the award winners. “It’s what keeps them getting up every morning and going into work each and every day: They all have a huge heart,” Lewis told the attendees ranging from executives at Five Star Subaru to leaders at SUNY Oneonta.
The executive director of the Susquehanna SPCA, Stacie Haynes, accepted the organization’s Small Business of the Year Award. The award description cites the transformation the organization has gone through over recent years, including moving their location (and all their animals) in June 2021.
In September 2025, the SQSPCA launched the Safe Pasture Project, a new initiative to expand and enhance the organization’s capacity to care for farm animals in need. The Campbell Hill Farm will serve as a hub for surrendered and rescued animals to receive medical care and for those that are adoptable to meet potential families. In the future, the farm will also host a farm animal supply pantry similar to Sparky’s Pet Food Pantry that is currently available at the shelter, according to Haynes.
Worms Waste Not, the Breakthrough Business winner, is co-owned by Meghan Cassidy and Rachel Frick Cardelle. The company’s goal, according to its website, is to “reduce landfill while helping turn food scraps into black soil gold that supports our local farming and gardening communities.”
“The idea of providing food scrap hauling for compost came from a recent graduate of SUNY Oneonta who she met soon after Rachel and her family moved here,” the award description said. “He had recently begun a food scrap hauling business, so she signed on as early customers. Shortly thereafter, this SUNY grad and his family moved away. Rachel took over the business and the rest is history.” The business is now “growing by leaps and bounds.”
Get Fresh on the Main, an Oneonta restaurant owned by its chef and born-and-raised Otsego County resident Chrissie Sonnenberg, was named Chamber Member of the Year for its contributions to community events. “When Oneonta Job Corps was put in a bind without the ability to pay a caterer for their recent event at Foothills, Chrissie was there,” the award description read. “When the chamber needed breakfast fare for the Annual Golf Outing this past September, Chrissie came through.”
Frank Russo, a longtime community leader and volunteer, received a standing ovation after accepting the Community Leadership Award. With 25 years as an Oneonta firefighter, 12 as a local business owner, and 18 heading the Oneonta Family YMCA, the award recognized his cumulative achievements and service to the community.
“If it is a cause worth supporting, “Frank Lower Decker” is there,” the award description read.
EDITOR’S NOTE: AllOtsego and its newspapers, “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta,” are proudly locally owned. In the news business these days, that’s rare. We need your help to keep AllOtsego for all of Otsego, not hedge funds hundreds of miles away who don’t care about the intricacies of local government or the milestones of everyday people like you. Can you subscribe, or donate, to our newspaper business? While donations are not tax deductible, rest assured they will be put to good use. When local media declines, corruption rises. Powerful people realize no one is watching and act accordingly. Getting you the news takes seven days a week, driving across the county, filing costly record requests, tech, phone, and other bills, and so much more. From finding human interest stories like a boat rescue on Otsego Lake to deep dives into controversial development proposals, reporting the news takes being a part of our community, knowing the micro-histories and relationships that make this such a special place. On such small margins, we couldn’t do it without you, dear loyal reader. (With your help, soon you’ll be a watcher and listener, too!) Support all of Otsego by supporting AllOtsego today.
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