The vibrant business community of the Lehigh Valley was honored and recognized during the 2018 Business of the Year Awards ceremony hosted on Dec. 4 by Lehigh Valley Business (LVB). (photo courtesy LVB.com)

The vibrant business community of the Lehigh Valley was honored and recognized during the 2018 Business of the Year Awards ceremony hosted on Dec. 4 by Lehigh Valley Business (LVB). (photo courtesy LVB.com)

More than 300 people came out to DeSales University in Upper Saucon Township for the ceremony, which recognizes businesses in multiple category ranges, and added three long-time business leaders to the LVB Hall of Fame.

“We are here tonight to celebrate great achievement; the achievement of doing something meaningful and full of purpose so that the end result is one of economic gain and jobs,” said LVB Publisher Mike O’Rourke. “We are in a room full of folks who measure success by talking about profits, employee satisfaction and community service.”

Among the winners were the Allentown based Traffic Planning and Design Inc., which won Business of the Year among companies with more than 100 employees; and the Lehigh Valley law firm Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, which won the award for companies with 25 to 100 employees.

Elaine Pivinski, owner and operator of Franklin Hill Vineyards, was among the Hall of Fame honorees. (photo courtesy LVB.com)

“These businesspeople create jobs, provide employees the means to support families, carry the non-profit community through charitable donations and yes, pay taxes,” O’Rourke said. “Rarely do the women and men behind this great game of business get the recognition they deserve; recognition for being the backbone of a community and most definitely this nation.”

Hall of Fame honorees included Steve Follett, the retiring longtime President of Follett LLC; John Malloy, the Chairman, President, and CEO of Victaulic; and Elaine Pivinski, owner and operator of Franklin Hill Vineyards in Bangor.

“Congratulations to all our Hall of Fame honorees,” O’Rourke said. “With your very different backgrounds, you have each created a legacy that all businesspeople should aspire to achieve. Thank you for choosing the Lehigh Valley to be the beneficiary of your life’s work.”

See below for a full list of the nominees and winners (in bold) in each category:

Business of the Year (1 – 14 employees)

Base Engineering Inc.
Bioscience, Inc.
Ebert Furniture Gallery
One Financial Services
Weather Trends International, Inc.

Business of the Year (15 – 24 employees)

Azzur Labs LLC
KDG
Klunk & Millan Advertising
Omega Protective Services, LLC
TWG Security

Business of the Year (25 – 100 employees)

Cenduit, LLC
Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, PC
Ideal Concepts, Inc.
R. L. Reppert, Inc.
Vistacom, Inc.

Business of the Year (101+ employees)

BerkOne, Inc.
Dream Live Prosper
Keystone Fire Protection Co.
Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority
Traffic Planning and Design, Inc.

Emerging Business of the Year

Citro Digital
Modern Fusion Catering, LLC
SCF Architecture, LLC
Sequential Technology International LLC

Special Award Winners

• Minority-Owned Business of the Year: Pentemo Group (formerly Vishtech Services Company)
• Women-Owned Business of the Year: myHR Partner
• Veteran-Owned Business of the Year: Netizen Corporation
• Non-Profit Organization of the Year (Small): Discover Lehigh Valley
• Non-Profit Organization of the Year (Large): ArtsQuest
• Executive of the Year: Kevin Campbell, Barry Isett and Associates, Inc.
• Corporate Citizen of the Year: Ronald Jerdon, Jerdon Construction Services