Community leaders honored at Wenatchee Chamber’s 25th anniversary banquet

WENATCHEE — A room full of business owners, nonprofit leaders and longtime community advocates gathered at the Wenatchee Convention Center on April 16, to celebrate a milestone and the people behind it.

Marking “25 Years of Community,” the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet honored several businesses and nonprofit organizations whose work has helped shape the valley’s economic and civic life over the past year. Finalists for Business of the Year included Top Thai and Cascade Autocenter, while Pybus Public Market and Wenatchee Public Library were recognized among nonprofit nominees.

The evening’s top business honor went to Norwood Wine Bar, where owner Josh Thaut reflected on the path that brought him back to Wenatchee. Accepting the Business of the Year award, Thaut spoke to the kind of recognition that often feels distant until it arrives, crediting family support and creative partnerships for helping turn an idea into something rooted in downtown life. He pointed in particular to collaborations that helped launch events like the “Night Market on the Ave,” now part of the city’s evolving street culture.

Across the nonprofit sector, Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council was recognized as Nonprofit of the Year, a nod not just to programs but to longevity. For more than six decades, the organization has worked across both counties, building a network that now includes dozens of staff and hundreds of volunteers. CEO Alan Walker invited that broader team into the moment, emphasizing that the work is collective, built over years of steady service to families navigating poverty and instability.

Tourism also had its moment on stage. Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort received the Visit Wenatchee Tourism Impact Award, highlighting both its draw and its economic footprint. With tens of thousands of visitors each year, many from outside the region, the resort continues to serve as both destination and anchor, tying recreation to local business activity.

The Chamber also presented its Cornerstone Award to Chrissy Schull, recognizing her role in strengthening the region’s business climate from the ground up. Through her work with the Business Development Advisory Committee, Schull has been part of a broader effort to make starting a business in the Wenatchee Valley more accessible. That work is taking shape in a forthcoming toolkit designed to guide entrepreneurs through the process with fewer barriers and clearer pathways, with the goal of making the community a place where opening a business feels achievable and supported.

Taken together, the awards traced a familiar thread, growth built not just on individual success, but on collaboration. From restaurants and resorts to nonprofits and advisory groups, each honoree reflected a piece of a larger system that continues to evolve alongside the community it serves.

As the Chamber closed the evening, the message was less about a single year’s achievements and more about continuity. The next 25 years will be shaped by the same mix of risk, support and shared investment that brought the room together in the first place.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media