EASLEY — The 78th Annual Meeting and Awards Celebration of the Greater Easley Chamber of Commerce last week was, simply, a slam dunk.
Close to 125 community leaders showed up in support on Thursday afternoon for this big event, which helped celebrate 75 new members to the Easley Chamber last year and already 20 new members this quarter in 2026.
“I felt great about it,” said Brian Swords, the President and CEO of the Greater Easley Chamber of Commerce. “It showed the excitement that we have with the business community here in the Easley, Powdersville and Liberty area. It was one of the best turnouts we’ve had for the Chamber that I can remember.”
Continued Swords, “We appreciate the support we are getting from our businesses.”
Several top-notch individuals were honored, while Robinson Funeral Home (Business of the Year) and the YMCA of Easley, Pickens and Powdersville (Duke Citizenship Award) quickly took centerstage. A nice touch to the event, too, was Rep. Davey Hiott getting recognized with the Duke Energy Citizenship Award. “Davey Hiott is a very deserving recipient of that with all that he’s done,” said Swords. “We appreciate him and all the hard work he’s done as a representative of the state and house. This will be his last year he said and we wanted to make sure we award his accomplishments.”
Truliant Credit Union was the presenting sponsor of this big chamber event. The actual event sponsors were Rita’s of Easley and Chris Foster Allstate.
Not to be overlooked is the team-first attitude of Dr. Brian Swords who brought in a former colleague of his on board (Dr. Rick Cothran). Rachel Melton and Neydi Ramirez also do a great job in helping boost the Easley Chamber.
Chamber Board of Director of the Year – Suzanne Flaugher of the YMCA
Powdersville Advisory Member of the Year – Amanda McGinty of State Farm Insurance Agency in Greenville
Non-Profit of the Year – The Open Book Project
Ambassidor of the Year – Lori Rowe
Community Connector of the Year – Stacy Bayne
Small Business of the Year – The Silos
Young Professional of the Year – Adria Earwood (Loan Officer at Park National Bank) and Daniel Adams (of Tri County Technical College)
Business of the Year – Robinson Funeral Home
Pillar of the Community – YMCA of Easley, Pickens and Powdersville
Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award – Representative Davey Hiott