“Together we are stronger than one. We hold the key to our future, we will stay positive and make a difference by moving forward and caring about each other.” Those were Hellertown Mayor David Heintzelman’s words as the Hellertown-Lower Saucon Chamber, a subsidiary of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, held its ‘Virtual Awards Ceremony: Hellertown Heroes & Lower Saucon Lifesavers’ on the evening of July 29 via Facebook Live.

While mandated shutdowns and a general decrease in economic activity have seen the permanent closure of establishments large and small alike both in our area as well as nationwide, communities have rallied around local restaurants, retail storefronts, service-based businesses and more in an effort to help them stay afloat during these unprecedented times, with many local businesses and organizations returning the favor. The ceremony aimed to “celebrate (those businesses) who stepped up to assist others throughout the Hellertown-Lower Saucon area” over the last several months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chamber Chair Ricky Gower emceed the event and Heintzelman opened the ceremony with an address praising the Chamber, local businesses and the borough as a whole. Lower Saucon Township Manager Leslie Huhn echoed his sentiments, hailing the support that businesses have given local police and other first responders, donating PPE, meals and more to support them in this time of need.

Manager of Affiliated Chambers Lauren Bertucci explained that unlike traditional awards ceremonies, “everyone who was nominated tonight is a winner” for coming together and making a difference in the community. Vice Chair of the Chamber’s board, Kim Rosario, then recognized the 12 nominated businesses that stood up and helped take on the needs of the community.

She praised Black River Farms, which converted their distillery equipment to manufacture hand sanitizer; Christ Lutheran Church and Pastor Phil Spohn for quickly transitioning to virtual services, spearheading donation drives and regularly creating inspirational Facebook videos; Gary’s Custom Cuts for donating gift cards to families in need; Jay Tulio of Hellertown Crossroads Hotel and Wings on Main for donating food to two hospitals and pizza to the Hellertown Police Department and other first responders; Lost Tavern Brewery for donating a portion of beer sales to several local charities; McDonald’s of Hellertown for donating five dollars per car that visited their drive-thru for an hour each Friday in June; New Waters Church and Pastor Jim Ricci for leading an initiative for participation in the ‘Boxes of Hope’ program; Quest Termite and Pest Control for altering their business model to purchase equipment to offer disinfecting services to local companies and organizations; Maria Tsirigotakis and her team at Salon Mia for making masks and donating them as well as food; Saucon Source for selling “Saucon Strong” T-shirts and donating a total of $6 per shirt to the Lower Saucon Food Bank and Saucon Valley Farmers Market, respectively; Saucon Valley Massage for donating services to workers at St. Luke’s Hospital and meals to Fountain Hill Elementary School; and Trendz Hair Salon of Saucon Valley for donating free meals to those in need.

Andy Warner from Black River Farms joined the panel and said they donated between eight and nine thousand four ounce bottles of hand sanitizer to 83 different organizations, thanking those who volunteered to donate funds to the distillery to continue production. “We were just in the right place at the right time and able to move fast to get it done,” he said.

Kendra Snyder, co-owner of Quest Termite and Pest Control and Chamber board member, praised more ‘nominees,’ including Heintzelman Funeral Home and their team, led by the mayor, whose crematorium helped out handling out-of-state COVID cases when other funeral homes were at capacity; Hellertown Library and Miss Andrea for providing storytime videos and other materials for children during the Stay-At-Home orders; Jarett Yoder Foundation, which helps veterans find housing, food and other services; Made of Love Not Genes Corporation and Avia Weber, which held a virtual fundraiser and donated their funds to Salvation Army Children’s Services; Dewey Fire Co./EMS, Lower Saucon Fire Rescue and Steel City Vol. Fire Department, who, as always responded to all community emergencies despite the spread of COVID.

Gower then returned to recognize two Community Support ‘nominees’: Gail’s A Stitch in Time which manufactured hundreds of masks for St. Luke’s University Health Network, and Mask Makers of Saucon Valley, which has also provided “many, many masks for our local community,” he said. Lastly, Executive Vice President of Affiliated Chambers Jessica O’Donnell praised the entire community for raising over $20,000 for the annual Dewey Fire Co. fireworks display, saying, “if this doesn’t make you proud to be from Hellertown and Lower Saucon, I don’t know what will.”