FREEPORT – The Greater Freeport Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual meeting and awards dinner Jan. 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn, and despite the snow, some 100 members made the trek to celebrate another successful year, said interim executive director Caroline Krahn.

“It was a great turnout,” Krahn said. “Our membership is strong and keeps growing.”

In her speech, keynote speaker Wendy Caisse, owner of Buck’s Naked BBQ restaurants, touched on the importance of volunteerism and how it shaped her life.

“As business owners, we know it’s hard to find time to volunteer. We all have kids, pets and businesses to run,” said Caisse in her humorous and often self-deprecating speech. “But I think we can all find a little time to give something back to the community. It’s a lesson I learned from an early age”

At the dinner, the chamber awarded Houses & Barns by John Libby as business of the year, Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen as community business supporter of the year, Sally Grover from Freeport Players as volunteer of the year, and Warren Construction owner Peter Warren as chamber member of the year.

The chamber also elected Michelle Allott of Farris Law as board president; Carolyn Beem, L.L. Bean public affairs manager, vice president; and Micheal Reis of Ameriprise Financial as treasurer.

New board members elected for a three-year term were Wilson Woodbury from Freeport True Value Hardware; Brett Davis, owner of Brett Davis Real Estate; Michelle Barker of Bath Savings; and Sande Updegraph, town of Brunswick.

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