Kenco, Emerson Resort, Michael Berg Honored at May 14 Chamber Breakfast

    The Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce will recognize two businesses that have set the bar high at their annual Customer Experience Lifetime Achievement Awards breakfast at The Venue Uptown, 503 Washington Ave., Kingston. The breakfast meeting, which is open to the public, will be held on Thursday, May 14, from 7:30 to 9:00 am.
    Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union is sponsoring the breakfast.
    The honorees are the Emerson Resort and Spa in Mount Tremper, with the award to be accepted by Emily Fisher, owner and co-founder, and Kenco Outfitters in Kingston, with owner Bill Kennedy accepting the award.
    This year, the Chamber will also honor longtime Family of Woodstock Executive Director Michael Berg with the Legacy of Service Award for the impact he has had in leading the agency for 56 years.
    At the breakfast, both Fisher and Kennedy will share ways they’ve made their customers feel valued and heard over the decades.
    Fisher, who co-founded the Emerson in 1996 with the late developer, Dean Gitter, became the sole owner of the luxury resort in 2013. The property includes lodging, the Catamount restaurant, a full-service spa, specialty shops, and the “World’s Largest Kaleidoscope.” 
    Kenco Outfitters is another special place in Ulster County that has long put customers first. The business opened in the basement of a Woodstock home in 1982, filling a niche for locals and tourists looking for gear and apparel suited for the outdoors.
    Kayakers, mountain climbers, hunters, snowboarders, campers, and fly fishermen and women now had a place to shop for all their recreational outings. 
    Michael Berg will also get a well-deserved moment in the spotlight, as he’s awarded the Chamber’s Legacy of Service Award. Michael founded Family of Woodstock when throngs of music lovers descended on Woodstock, NY, in 1970, thinking they were going to the site of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival in Sullivan County. Berg became the agency's Board President and Treasurer and then was hired as a full-time paid Executive Director in April 1981.
    Family of Woodstock is today a multi-program human service agency, running one of the oldest continuously operating 24-hour emergency switchboards in the nation.
 
Chamber Breakfast Meetings are a great way to stay on top of current events and connect with other local business leaders. Reservations are required. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door for Chamber members ($45 for non-members.) For more information, contact the Chamber at (845) 338-5100 or go online at www.ulsterchamber.org.
 

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