MONROE — The Union County Chamber of Commerce honored pillars of the business community at its annual achievement dinner, and thanked them for their work in advancing the local economy.

Two new members were inducted into the Business Leadership Hall of Fame.

Here are the award recipients with a brief biography provided by chamber.

Business Leadership Hall of Fame

Lynn Raye

Lynn Raye is the owner of Commercial Piping and Fabricating, but has had the entrepreneurial instinct since his paper route when she was 6 years old. By age 9 he was working with his uncle at a saw mill and by 18 he bought truck and began to haul wood chips.

In 1977, Raye co-founded Commercial Piping and Fabricating and has grown the business just east of Wingate from two to 30 employees and from a 5,000-square-foot building to a more than 30,000- square-foot operation.

In addition to the pipe-fitting business, Raye also owns and operates Twin Oaks Farm in southeastern Union County where he raises cattle and grows hay.

In 2003, Commercial Piping and Fabricating built the stainless steel replica of the Wright Brothers plane, now located at the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk.

Raye serves on several boards including the South Piedmont Community College board of directors, the JobReady Partnership and was the New Century Scholars founder in Union and Anson counties.



Bruce Griffin Jr.

Bruce Griffin Jr. has managed Griffin Motor Company, founded in 1946 by his father, Bruce Griffin Sr., for years.

What started as a modest used car dealership on Concord Avenue has now grown into one of the Charlotte region’s most successful and reputable automobile dealers. Known for its customer service, and customer loyalty, Griffin has been a strong General Motors affiliate for six decades and has served on the Greater Charlotte Automobile Dealers’ Association.

In May 2002, a fire destroyed the dealership facilities built in 1978 on Roosevelt Boulevard. Reacting quickly, Griffin reopened three days later across the street. In January 2004, Griffin Motor Company moved back to a $5 million facility.

Other awards and winners:

Minority Business Person of the Year

Byron Pouges, director of marketing, Carolinas Medical Center-Union

Byron Pouges has served as the director of marketing and communications for CMC-Union since 2005. He is passionate about marketing, advertising, and branding, and is committed to making a positive difference in people’s lives and businesses.

He has managed and promoted high-profile community events and fundraisers, and has been recognized professionally with numerous advertising awards for excellence in health care marketing, including a Best of Show and Gold award at the Carolinas Public Relations and Healthcare Marketing Conference in November.

An active United Way volunteer, Pouges has served on the board of directors and as marketing chairman of the Union County chamber.



Business Woman of the Year

Carol Tyson, founder/owner The Real Estate Link

Carol Melton Tyson graduated with a degree from Meredith College and was a teacher until her children were born.

In 1984, when her children were older, she went to work for Ty-Par Realty, the residential-sales arm of the Tyson Group construction company, First Carolina Construction. In May 2000, she began the Real Estate Link and relocated into the American Community Bank Building and now her office is one of the few independent brokerage firms in the county.

A Union County native, Tyson has seen the growth and ups and downs of the area and has supported local builders. Throughout her 26-year career, she has been named Realtor of the Year, Woman of the Year and served as president of the Board of Realtors, and Regional Multiple Listing Board and many numerous Realtor committees.

Tyson was named Union County Realtor of the Year in 1995 and serves on the board of directors for Union Academy and has served as chairwoman of the United Way of Union County board of directors.



Business Man of the Year

Greg Nalewaja, general manager, Metro Honda in Indian Trail

Greg Nalewaja took over as the executive manager in February 2008 and has tied the success of the dealership to Union County. The dealers ads always mention the name, “Metro Honda of Union County.” In two years, Nalewaja and his team have turned Metro Honda into one of the most successful Honda stores in the area, employing 63 workers, most of whom reside in Union County.

In 2008, Metro Honda won the Presidents Award from Honda for the first time in its history and every year rates in the top 10 percent of Honda dealers nationwide.

In addition to providing service to the growing list of customers who do business with the dealership, Nalewaja has proven to be a good partner to Union County, supporting schools, youth sports and community events. Nalewaja and the staff at Metro Honda have consistently answered the call of community involvement by volunteering for local civic groups, charities, youth functions, and offering local environment support.

Chamber Volunteer of the Year

Jenny Prevatte, pre-paid legal representative and creator of TwiliteCS marketing and design

Jenny Prevatte has worked as a volunteer to make 2009 a successful year for the chamber. Prevatte took command of every detail to lead a committee and plan and implement the ninth annual Business Showcase. Her technical and graphics skills helped the chamber in completing many of its publications and electronic media communications.

Prevatte has been a Chamber Ambassador for two years. She regularly refers new members, new advertisers and new sponsors for the chamber, easing the work on others.



Ambassador of the Year

Nico Iannelli, AAA-Biggs Insurance Group

Nico Iannelli was labeled as a model ambassador and passionate supporter of the chamber. As Shop Union County chairman this year, he led a public awareness campaign of the benefits of shopping locally and recognized the need to reach business people in the Indian Trail, Stallings and Waxhaw areas of Union County.

To further expand the reach of the chamber every part of Union County, Iannelli became an active member of the Chamber’s partner business organization, the Waxhaw Business Association. He has also worked to promote and expand the chamber’s Hot Deals member-to-member discount program, encouraging members and prospective members to utilize this program for their employees to keep tax dollars locally.



Special Achievement Award

Chris Platé director, Monroe Economic Development Commission

Since Chris Platé took charge in 1999, the Monroe Economic Development Commission has secured $901 million in capital investments and facilitated the creation of more than 6,000 jobs in every industrial neighborhood in Monroe. Annual investment has averaged in excess of $65 million since the organization’s inception in 1996 and Monroe Economic Development celebrated a record investment of $303 million in 2008, including the recruitment of Turbomeca Manufacturing and a major expansion by ATI Allvac.

These developments, the recruitment of Goodrich Corporation’s Customer Service headquarters and other successes have earned Monroe and its Corporate Center as a top-five U.S. location for aerospace manufacturing. Under Platé’s leadership, the Charlotte Monroe Executive Airport is expanding its runway to 7,000 feet and will begin construction of a new terminal soon.

The Charlotte Foreign Trade Zone now includes the Monroe Corporate Center. These advancements can attract larger corporate jets to Monroe as their home base and make Monroe far more competitive for industrial growth. In August 2009 CNN Money announced that Union County has been the 10th best location in the nation for job growth (58 percent) from 2000 to 2008.

Platé’s department also coordinates the Warriors and Warbirds Air show, which attracted more than 80,000 attendees over the two-day 2009 Veterans Day weekend.