Annual Chamber of Commerce Dinner Celebrates the Best in Bedford

Boston Celtics coach Walter McCarty with BCoC Executive Director Maureen Sullivan, Donna Bruno – Uvisulize, Suzanne Koller- Suzanne & Co., Lynne Luongo – General Manager of the DoubleTree Bedford Glen hotel, RAY of Hope winner Rob Ackerman, and Adam Schwartz, President of BCoC’s Board of Directors – Courtesy photograph

Submitted by Maureen Sullivan, Bedford Chamber of Commerce

Bedford Chamber of Commerce held their annual dinner on Thursday, January 15 at the Double Tree Bedford Glen Hotel in Bedford, Massachusetts. The dinner was host to nearly 100 guests who enjoyed the hospitality of the Doubletree chef as they dined on a delicious meal.

Award winners were:

Business of the Year, Doubletree Glen Hotel
Business Person of the Year, Suzanne Koller of Suzanne and Co.
Ray of Hope was awarded to Bedford High School sophomore Rob Ackerman
Outstanding Service to the Chamber was awarded to Donna Bruno of uVisualize Travel Company.

The evening’s guest speaker was Celtics coach Walter McCarty. McCarty took the podium after the awards ceremony to address the crowd with stories of playing, coaching and the basics of life and how he got from small town Evansville Illinois to the big stage of NBA basketball.

McCarty’s story is that of resilience and determination. Despite assumptions McCarty told of being in 6^th grade and 5 feet 10 inches tall and has he said “really uncoordinated”. His successes are attributed to hard work and having people that believed in him. McCarty’s favorite quote is that of Maya Angelou “give without remembering and take without forgetting”. His advice for everyday life to the group was simply to work hard and be proud of what we achieve everyday rather than getting caught up in being number one and being the best.

McCarty spoke to the audience for about 45 minutes answering questions after the evening ended to loud applause.