The Western Douglas County Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet was held at The Club at Indian Creek on March 24th. The annual event had a great turnout to honor businesses and citizens in Western Douglas County. WDCCC was honored to have Governor Pete Ricketts as a guest and keynote speaker.

The 2015 Business of the Year is Hilton Garden Inn Omaha West and the Home2 Suites by Hilton. The Hilton Garden Inn has been open since 2006 and is located near 180th & West Dodge. The Hilton Garden Inn has always been very open to hosting Chamber events, and Kinseth Hospitality the managing company invested further in West Omaha by building and opening the Home2 Suites on September 16, 2014. Both of these hotels are great assets to the community.

The 2015 Business Person of the Year is Neil Kirby, Branch President at Commercial State Bank in Elkhorn. As Branch President he was vital to the bank’s first year as part of the Elkhorn community. Neil brings a positive energy and outlook to work every day and has put together a great team that supports his vision every step of the way. Neil and his family have been extremely involved in the Elkhorn community for the past 30 years.

The 2015 Chamber Member of the Year is Dan Palmquist, President of American Interstate Bank in Elkhorn. Dan has been selected as the Chamber Member of the Year because of his endless hours of volunteered time in making the WDCCC a growing, fun and valued chamber. He has served as Chairman of the Board for the past 5 years. Dan is not only on the board but also attends many of the Chamber’s functions. He strongly promotes and recruits new members to the Chamber. Dan is also very active in a wide-variety of community involvement efforts.

The 2015 Citizen of the Year is Perry Viers of Boyd & Charlies/Bella Vita. Several years ago, Perry put his faith and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into his dream of opening a BBQ restaurant, Boyd & Charlies in downtown Elkhorn. It hasn’t been easy, but thanks to Perry blazing this trail, many more businesses have found success in the same area. Perry has continued to invest his time and resources into Bella Vita an Italian restaurant with his partners Kevin and Mary Stork. Bella Vita has been open a little over 8 years and Boyd & Charlies is going on 12 years.

The 2015 Ambassador of the Year is Sara Starr, Director of Sales at the Home2 Suites by Hilton. The Ambassador of the Year is a new award presented at this year’s awards banquet. The Ambassadors are the individuals that help greet at Chamber events and attend Ribbon Cuttings and Grand Openings. Sara was selected as the winner due to being extremely active in representing the Chamber at 88% of the Chamber events this past year.

For more information about the Western Douglas County Chamber of Commerce, please visit www.wdccc.org.