The President’s Award recognizes an individual or company deserving of recognition for their work and contributions to the community. This year’s award honors the legacy of Jim Oliver.
An engineer by trade, Jim was committed to education, innovation and philanthropy and his career spanned the complete transformation of communications technology.
In the mid-70s, Jim designed the antennas that helped get ESPN and CNN on the air. He loved the engineering work but struggled with the corporate drive that focused solely on profits. By the late nineties, Jim and his family had moved to Asheville, drawn like most of us by the peace and beauty of our mountains.
One consulting project led Jim to the concept of designing satellite communications antennas that could be mounted onto trucks, creating news-gathering vehicles that could transmit live news feeds from remote locations. He designed and built the first vehicle-mounted antenna in his basement in 1994.
Today, AvL Technologies is a leader in mobile satellite communications technology with 260 employees and a 110,000 square foot campus in north Asheville. One of his catch phrases he often said to employees was “You’ve got a seat on the bus. We’ve just got to find the right one.”
In 2021, Jim was inducted into the Space and Satellite Hall of Fame for greatly expanding the applications for satellite communications.
Jim was a true ambassador for Asheville, a longtime EDC Board Member and Investor, promoting the AVL name around the globe, and at every turn, Jim would consider first, the impact on Asheville and the employees he loved and respected.
The Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognizes entrepreneurs with soaring ventures and who serve as role models leading through example for all the startup entrepreneurs in the region. This year’s award goes to Ginger Frank of Poppy Hand-crafted Popcorn.
From humble beginnings in 2014 as a solopreneur, Ginger has grown Poppy to a beloved and ever innovating brand with a growing regional, national and international following. Tonight, we celebrate her leadership in this year of disaster recovery and her commitment to paying her success forward to the next generation of Asheville Entrepreneurs. With creativity and generosity, Ginger launched the Recovery Leadership Alliance, focused on aiding business recovery post-Helene and laying the groundwork for policy reforms. Her philanthropic commitments included the Women Entrepreneurs Asheville Recovery Endeavor and a philanthropic investment in the Optimist Ventures Accelerator that will be launched this summer by the Chambers’ Venture Asheville Team – deploying grants and investment capital to accelerate the recovery of our start up community.
The Hop Ice Cream has been an institution in Asheville since 1978. Owners and joy-makers, Ashley and Greg Garrison, became the fifth proprietors of the business in 2008 after having worked as scoopers since 2003 while enrolled at UNC Asheville.
Using some family inheritance, Greg’s dad generously offered to help Greg and Ashley with the down payment to purchase The Hop in 2008. They considered themselves “punk rock business owners” – they came in green without a basis for what they thought the business should be. That blank slate allowed them to build on the established, well-loved business. They’ve been able to home in on a simple idea. That is……to create the most positive growth or impact possible for employees, customers and collaborators. Approaching the business with that mindsight Greg and Ashley are increasing the likelihood of joy and happiness for everyone involved.
The Small Business Leader of the Year Awards recognize individuals who reflect quality and dedication in their business and who are accomplished leaders.
Sara Martin, co-founder of Online Training Concepts is recognized as a Small Business Leader of the Year.
Sara has a kind, authentic leadership style and genuine desire to find the best solution to serve each client’s needs. That approach has fueled the young company’s exponential growth over the last four years. Beyond her work as CEO of Online Training Concepts, Sara continues to grow into a role of coach and business leader in our community. She recently started supporting Mountain Bizworks as a facilitator for the Business Foundations course. Also, her role as a founding board member at a local software development startup (Aktiga) has helped them be selected for the “Top Ten Startups to Watch” award by the NC Tech Association in December of 2024.
The Small Business Leader of the Year Awards recognize individuals who reflect quality and dedication in their business and who are accomplished leaders.
This trio are the faces behind Table and All Day Darling. They’ve leaned into their unique individual strengths and solution-oriented mindset to nurture their restaurants over the last 20 years. Faced with the challenge of the pandemic, they were able to rapidly figured out how to operate a clean and closed business providing food to the community and reopened almost immediately. The same held true for Helene when All Day Darling was only closed for five days despite lack of water. Combined with appreciation for locally sourced food, Perfectly Ad Hoc has built a very strong, loyal customer base over the last two decades.
The Excellence in Public Service award recognizes outstanding contributions to the community through involvement, service or motivation to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Buncombe County. This year, we honor Luke Combs.
Luke is a multi-platinum, award-winning country music artist and proud North Carolina native. Luke headlined the Concert for Carolina – a special benefit show presented by Explore Asheville. The record-breaking benefit event that raised over $24.5 million for hurricane relief efforts. Held at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, the concert drew an in-person crowd of over 82,000 and reached millions worldwide via livestream, bringing critical aid to organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank, and Eblen Charities.
Beyond his musical achievements, Combs has consistently used his platform to support those in need, demonstrating a deep commitment to his roots. Describing the benefit show as “the proudest moment of his career,” Luke continues to be a force for good, using his influence to uplift and support communities in crisis.
In her career, Sharon Owen worked at First Union Bank, St. Joseph’s Hospital (which became Memorial Mission) and retired from Mercy Urgent Care.
No one loves Asheville NC more than Sharon. As a military brat, she moved often during her childhood, but everything changed when she married her forever husband, Rusty. Asheville became their home. Sharon quickly became part of the fabric of this community—she was even crowned Miss Asheville in 1979! You can still catch her in local parades, flashing that radiant smile and giving her signature regal wave.
Tonight, we recognize Sharon’s extraordinary service—more than 23 years of volunteering with the Chamber’s Total Resource Committee (TRC). Since its inception, Sharon has been a driving force, connecting members with marketing opportunities and helping grow our Chamber. In just the past 14 years, she has secured over $1 million in sponsorships that directly support the Chamber’s mission of building community through business.
Sharon has carried out this work with unmatched warmth, passion, and dedication, making a lasting impact on our Chamber and the town she calls home – Asheville NC!
She now steps into a new chapter as a fully devoted “Damma” to her grandkids and grandpups.