Jake Palmateer
Daily Star
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The Andes Hotel, The Watershed Post and the Tractor Supply store in Delhi will receive the top honors from the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce.
The businesses will be recognized at the chamber’s 2011 Annual Awards Dinner on Oct. 20. The awards were announced last week.
Delhi’s Tractor Supply, which offers a wide range of household, farm, and commercial equipment, was named Business of the Year.
“In a very hard time, Tractor Supply opened its second store in Delaware County. With the creation of jobs, meeting the needs of the communities and with the generation of sales tax, this new store has truly helped the economy for Delaware County,” Mary Beth Silano, executive director of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, said in a media release.
The New Business of the Year award will be given to Watershed Post, an online community newspaper serving the Catskills region.
“The Watershed Post has shown the importance of the need for being connected to the Internet,” Silano said. “As a small business, owner Lissa Harris shows that hard work equals success, and we appreciate her commitment to Delaware County.”
Harris said the groundwork for Watershed Post began about two years ago, and the online-only publication went live in January.
“It’s been a wild ride. It’s been really rewarding,” she said by telephone Monday.
The geography of the Catskill Mountains makes it a tough place to deliver news to residents, Harris said. But the Internet is a way to overcome poor radio reception and long distances from larger communities, she said.
“I think rural places need the Internet more,” Harris said by telephone Monday.
The Andes Hotel will receive the Tourism Property of the Year award.
“We’re very proud to announce Ed and Sally O’Neill of the Andes Hotel as recipients of our Tourism Business of the Year award. Slowly and steadily, the O’Neills have taken the Andes Hotel on a journey with constant improvements to their building and offerings, and most recently opening O’Neill’s Shire Pub in Delhi,” chamber tourism Director Patty Cullen said in the release.
Ed O’Neill said he and his wife were excited about the award.
“We are certainly honored, and we’re definitely very surprised,” O’Neill said. “Overall, we are just thrilled to get it.”
The O’Neills have owned The Andes Hotel for a decade. Last year, they opened O’Neill’s Shire Pub in Delhi.
“We’re just working hard at it and not being afraid to try different things,” O’Neill said.
It is also important to enjoy what you do, he said.
“We like entertaining. It’s something we both have a passion for,” O’Neill said.
The Delaware County Chamber’s Annual Dinner will be held at Hanah Country Club in Margaretville. A cocktail hour begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by a buffet dinner and the awards ceremony. Dinner is $60 per person or $115 per couple. Seating is limited. For reservations or for sponsorship information, call Silano at 746-2281 or e-mail msilano@delawarecounty.org.
