{"id":148656,"date":"2026-04-14T21:42:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T01:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148656"},"modified":"2026-04-14T21:42:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T01:42:52","slug":"bethlehem-chamber-to-honor-community-leaders-at-2026-annual-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148656","title":{"rendered":"Bethlehem Chamber to Honor Community Leaders at 2026 Annual Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>BETHLEHEM, PA (April 14, 2026)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 The Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, a proud council of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, will host its 2026 Annual Awards Reception on Thursday, May 28 from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM at Iacocca Hall at Lehigh University, 111 Research Drive, Bethlehem, PA.<\/p>\n<p>This signature event will bring together business leaders, community partners, and stakeholders for an evening celebrating the individuals and organizations shaping Bethlehem\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s reception highlights the intersection of artistry, commerce, and community, featuring local artists, a curated showcase of original work, and a silent auction supporting Bethlehem\u2019s creative talent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bethlehem Chamber is proud to recognize the following 2026 Annual Award recipients:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Strategic Partner Award<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Astound Business Solutions<\/li>\n<li><strong>Downtown Vision Award\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 MKSD Architects<\/li>\n<li><strong>Community Partner Award<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Arif Fazil, CHA Consulting, Inc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Star of Bethlehem Award<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Hasanna Birdsong, Lehigh Valley Public Media<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trailblazer Award\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Bethlehem Parking Authority<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bethlehem Legacy Award<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Dr. Jack Silva, Bethlehem Area School District<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In addition, the Chamber will recognize this year\u2019s\u00a0<strong>Milestone Honorees<\/strong>, celebrating a combined 1,135 years of service and impact in the Bethlehem community:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>275 Years \u2013 The Old Chapel of Central Moravian Church<\/li>\n<li>150 Years \u2013 Univest Bank &amp; Trust<\/li>\n<li>100 Years \u2013 Lehigh University Art Galleries (LUAG)<\/li>\n<li>95 Years \u2013 Boys &amp; Girls Club of Bethlehem<\/li>\n<li>85 Years \u2013 Trans-Bridge Lines, Inc.<\/li>\n<li>80 Years \u2013 Pearson Funeral Home<\/li>\n<li>50 Years \u2013 Franklin Hill Vineyards<\/li>\n<li>50 Years \u2013 Godfrey Daniels<\/li>\n<li>50 Years \u2013 Phillips &amp; Donovan Architects, LLC<\/li>\n<li>40 Years \u2013 New Bethany Ministries<\/li>\n<li>40 Years \u2013 Hand Cut Crystal<\/li>\n<li>40 Years \u2013 Pennsylvania Youth Theatre<\/li>\n<li>30 Years \u2013 WDIY<\/li>\n<li>15 Years \u2013 Visiting Angels Bethlehem &amp; East Stroudsburg<\/li>\n<li>10 Years \u2013 AM Luxe<\/li>\n<li>10 Years \u2013 My Vision of the Valley<\/li>\n<li>10 Years \u2013 Dr. Roopal G. Rammohan<\/li>\n<li>5 Years \u2013 Bitty &amp; Beau\u2019s Coffee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThis year\u2019s honorees represent the very best of Bethlehem, individuals and organizations who show up day in and day out, putting in the hard work to strengthen our community. Their dedication, leadership, and commitment to the vibrancy of our city are what make Bethlehem thrive. None of them do this work for personal recognition; they do it for the good of all,\u201d said Tammy Wendling, Senior Vice President of Bethlehem Initiatives, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n<p>The Annual Awards Reception serves as one of the Bethlehem Chamber\u2019s premier celebrations, honoring excellence while bringing together the people and partnerships that drive the region\u2019s continued success.<\/p>\n<p>Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available. To learn more or to register, please visit:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/f5j5ncabb.cc.rs6.net\/tn.jsp?f=0015l8WaCvBDrAwMDr5MHkWVW3PuQqit65cXw5Wqylcd5S95H739H8Dz88ewWQ5LilbTYCPdW2Y2hVBxNcvwcRZGM_1W3XtoEDs5UCFhIXclTtYOv7LNRgvEa5AX5UCB0EmwTBnI-n3rPX7zuyznFNqWg==&amp;c=ZiGkfwCPhfEQ-125_d5f8VsBKFZJKNt97TFEFS6jmuZcO4zfNtJHJw==&amp;ch=yp2IvbAPAnaygg6k9xwjiccVhxuMijfq-pYCZEIPlau6PS5PszvS5A==\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/3Ollx8r<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>About The Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce:<\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0The mission of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce is to advocate, preserve and advance business and community interests to further economic growth in the city of Bethlehem.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>About the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce<\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0The mission of The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce is to improve the economy and quality of life in the Lehigh Valley Metropolitan Area.\u00a0We accomplish this through business-to-business networking events and marketing products, affinity programs and exclusive, money saving member benefits, training programs, government affairs initiatives and public policy advocacy, and community development enterprises.\u00a0With nearly 5,000 members who employ more than 200,000, the Chamber is the largest in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and in the top ten nationwide.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nTammy Wendling<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BETHLEHEM, PA (April 14, 2026)\u00a0\u2014 The Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, a proud council of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, will host its 2026 Annual Awards Reception on Thursday, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148656\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Bethlehem Chamber to Honor Community Leaders at 2026 Annual Awards<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148657,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5717,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethlehem","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bc26-a.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148656"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148656"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148658,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148656\/revisions\/148658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/148657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}