ROANOKE RAPIDS — Hundreds of Valley residents learned more about local enterprises and business people yesterday at the Business Expo 2009, many folks were on hand to honor local entrepreneurs for their efforts during the past year.

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Tammy Crowley, of Crowley’s Gym, served as the host for the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Business Awards luncheon at Becker Village Mall, she introduced each of the top winners.

This year’s award for Best New Business went to Les Atkins of Les Atkins PR. The former local television news anchor started the business in 2006 with the idea of creating a full-service advertising firm to meet the diverse needs of small and large businesses in eastern North Carolina and southern Virginia. After accepting his plaque Atkins thanked his wife, Stacy, and recalled a piece of advice from his father: “My dad said being in business isn’t easy, if it was, everybody would be doing it and I’ve learned that in the last three years.”

 The next award: Woman in Business of the Year was given to Dorothy O. Edmonds, owner of Dixie Screen Printing in Roanoke Rapids. Edmonds fought back tears as she held her plaque and addressed the crowd. “Thank you so much, praise the Lord,” she said, before giving thanks to her husband and other members of the business community.

 Following Edmonds to the podium was Algernon Alston, owner of Mystic Multivenue Complex, who received the award for Minority Business of the Year. “We had offers to do other things,” he stated, “but decided to stay here and invest in our community. That shows how we feel and is a testament to our love for the community.”

 The final award: Small Business of the Year was given to George Campbell of local radio station WEZU. Campbell, who has served on the Roanoke Rapids Planning Board and the CADA Board of Directors and is a two-time recipient of the Governor’s Award for Volunteerism, spoke movingly about his battles with cancer and a stroke that left him severely incapacitated. “I had to learn to talk all over again. Through God’s good graces and Prozac I’m still here," he said with a grin.

 Campbell also discussed what he sees as a by-gone era of radio. “Things change. I’ll be approaching 70 years old pretty soon. …Technology has done some good things for our lives. But I remember the days when folks were more trusting. I remember the day when you could turn the radio on and you didn’t have to worry about anybody in your family hearing something that would be offensive. You had Billy Graham in the evening and The Nat King Cole Show; I hate to see all that go away, that family quality programming.”