The North Side/Shore Chamber of Commerce held its annual Business Awards Luncheon and recognized local leaders in transformation.

By Ashlee Green

On Thursday, May 9, the North Side/Shore Chamber of Commerce held its annual Business Awards Luncheon at the Jim Beam Left Field Lounge at PNC Park. The theme of the luncheon was “transformation.”

Business Awards winners were the following: Nonprofit Change Champion was Urban Impact Foundation, Small Business Change Champion was Cafe on the Corner, Medium Business Change Champion was Priory Hospitality, Large Corporation Change Champion was Allegheny Health Network, and Most Visible Professional (MVP) was Erin Conley of Amcom Office Systems.

Transformation Award winners were selected by the North Side/Shore Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and went to Diana Bucco, president of Buhl Foundation, Juan Garrett, executive director of Riverside Center for Innovation, and Jeremy Leventhal, managing partner of Faros Properties.

Bill Flanagan of the Allegheny Conference was Master of Ceremonies for the event and Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny Airport Authority, was the keynote speaker.
Cassotis spoke about the robust history of aviation in Pittsburgh and the $1.1 billion renovation plan for a new passenger terminal at the Pittsburgh International Airport, which is set to open in 2023. Pittsburgh has gone through a renaissance, she said, since the days it was a booming steel town.

“It’s time for that renaissance to be reflected in the airport.”