SPRINGFIELD -- The Effingham County Chamber of Commerce has announced the recipients of its 2022 Small Business of the Year and Beacon Awards. The awards will be presented at the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Awards Reception on June 23 at  6 p.m. at The Local on Laurel, 606 N. Laurel St.

DJ’s Home Care Specialists LLC was chosen by a vote of the chamber’s board of directors as the 2022 Small Business of the Year. DJ’s Home Care Specialists was nominated for the award by LaToya Hagood, for providing “excellent in-home care for their patients. Compassionate, empathetic, going out of their way to provide the best care possible. Professional, positive attitudes and teamwork.”

The chamber’s Ambassadors selected Tina Browning, assistant vice president/at work banking & financial literacy coordinator for Queensborough National Bank & Trust Co., for the Beacon Award as Ambassador of the Year. Browning serves on the chamber’s board, chairs the Ambassadors and Member Relations Committee, and chaired the Effingham County Diversity and Inclusion Conferences in 2021 and 2022.

The chamber's most prestigious award, the John Adam Treutlen Award, remains a closely guarded secret until the presentation at the Annual Awards Reception. The award is named in honor of Georgia's first (post-British) governor, who arrived in Colonial America as an indentured servant and rose to become a wealthy merchant and landowner. The first Treutlen Award was presented in 1986.

The Annual Awards Reception is a celebration of the accomplishments of the previous year. The chamber's new officers and cirectors are also installed at the event. There will be food from Simply Southern Caterers, a photobooth from Railyard Media and beer, wine, and soft drinks. Tickets are $45 per person and are available online at www.effinghamcounty.com, or by calling (912) 754-3301.

Platinum Level Sponsors of the Annual Awards Reception are Georgia Power and Effingham Health System. Gold Level Sponsors are Carlson & Co. and Effingham County Industrial Development Authority; and Supporting Sponsor is Panther Effingham Parc Apartments.

The Effingham County Chamber of Commerce is a member-driven organization focused on business advocacy and sustainable economic growth in our region. For more information, call (912) 754-3301, e-mail info@effinghamcountychamber.org, or visit www.effinghamcounty.com.