Business Excellence Awards

The Chamber’s annual Small Business Leader of the Year event is taking on an exciting new format in 2026 with the introduction of the Business Excellence Awards. This expanded program will recognize outstanding Chamber members through three award categories:

• Small Business of the Year
• Emerging Business of the Year
• Legacy Business of the Year

Each award will celebrate businesses that demonstrate excellence in leadership, innovation, customer service, business performance, and community engagement. From promising new ventures to established organizations with decades of impact, the Business Excellence Awards will highlight the businesses helping strengthen the economy and shape the future of Greenville-Pitt County.

1985 - Leslie H. Garner - Garner Wholesale

1986 - Parker Overton, Jr. - Overton's Inc.

1987 - Durwald Harris - Harris Supermarkets

1988 - Richard R. Miller - R.R. Miller Construction, Inc.

1989 - Edgar D. Murphrey, Jr.  - CopyPro, Inc.

1990 - Donald J. Edwards - University Book Exchange

1991 - Kelly Barnhill - Hendrix Barnhill Co., Inc.

1992 - Linda Thompson - Hanks Homemade Ice Cream

1993 - Bobby R. Boyd - Boyd Associates, Inc.

1994 - Mike Aldridge - Aldridge & Southerland Realtors

1995 - Patricia W. Schmidt - Brookcliff Publishers

1996 - Mark & Carol Anter - Little Caesars Pizza

1997 - Janet Carpenter - CPA/PFS, CFP

1998 - Susan Daughtry - Greenville Times

1999 - Connie Corey - First Choice Properties

2000 - Kathy Deal - FIT Weight Control Systems

2001 - Henry Hinton - Inner Banks Media, LLC

2002 - Jehu Taff - Taff Office Equipment

2003 - Lorie Stox - Pizzaz

2004 - Phil Flowers - Rock Springs Center

2005 - Emily Coffman - Faulkner & Associates Advertising | Richard R. Cox - Richard R. Cox, CPA

2006 - Mary Parsons - Parsons & Robinson Insurance

2007 - Linda Tripp - Carolina Court Reporters, Inc.

2008 - Will Daugherty - Evolve, Inc.

2009 - Bryant Kittrel & Stan Armstrong - Kittrell & Armstrong, LLC

2010 - Jenni Kolczynski - Jenni K. Handcrafted Jewelry

2011 - Polly Piland - State Farm Insurance

2012 - Lawrence Behr - LBA Group, Inc.

2013 - Bennie Hardy & Kim Braxton - Page & Smith, P.A.

2014 - Brian Churney & Tim Kirian - TWO MEN AND A TRUCK

2015 - Billy Ray Smith, MD - Eastern Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

2016 - Matthew Scully - The Scullery Coffeehouse and Creamery

2017 - Ashley-Nicole Russell - The Law Offices of Ashley-Nicole Russell, P.A.

2018 - Kevin & Jennifer Youngs - Youngs Physical Therapy & Sports Performance

2019 - Ileana Rojas Bennett - Maleku Jewelry 

2020 - Greg Green - Great Harvest Bread Company

2021 - Susan Bucci - Painted Peacock Company

2022/2023 - Chris Loignon - Fleet Feet Greenville NC

2024 - Greg Lassiter - Champions Health & Fitness Center

2025 - Michael Letchworth - Sam Jones BBQ