Chamber Names Williamson Nonprofit of the Year

Williamson was honored with the Nonprofit of the Year Award by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce at the Small Business Awards Dinner at the Drexelbrook Event Center in March.

Trish McFarland, Chamber president, said “The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce is proud to recognize the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trade as our Nonprofit of the Year. Williamson prepares young men to be well-trained and respected leaders in their field of study at no cost. We are fortunate to have such a fine institution of higher learning located here in Delaware County.”

President Michael Rounds accepted the award, saying “It is a great honor and privilege to represent Williamson every day. I want to thank everyone associated with Williamson and the Chamber of Commerce for recognizing us with this special award. May God bless you all.”

He also told the crowd that, “A Williamson man is a man you can trust and rely on, that takes pride in his work, does the job right, stays on the job until it is complete, and is the first guy you promote to foreman because Williamson men are leaders.”

Also attending from Williamson were President Rounds’ wife, Mary Nell; Bill Bonenberger 7W9, vice chairman of the Board of Trustees, and his wife Janet; Trustee William Strine, and his wife Judy; Trustee Vincent Mancini; Trustee Art Lallo 7W9 and his wife Renee; and Pete D’Orazio, of the Advancement Office.

Art Lallo sat at a table with Robert Simpson, CPA, of Brinker, Simpson & Co., LLC, a certified public accounting firm in Springfield, who serves on the Chamber’s board and has been a strong Williamson supporter for many years.

Additionally, two power plant technology seniors attended, Joseph Portz and Kevin Robinson, who sat with a table of Williamson alumni who work for Exelon.

The keynote speaker was Ray Didinger, a sports commentator who is a host on 94WIP all-sports talk radio and appears on Comcast SportsNet TV as the primary analyst on Eagles Post-Game Live.

The mission of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce is to enhance business throughout the region and promote the economic well-being of the county.