The Moore County Chamber of Commerce honored several businesses, organizations and individuals during its 44th annual banquet and meeting at the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst.

The inaugural Janet A. Powell Community Service Award was presented to St. Joseph of the Pines. The Chamber also presented its Small Business Award to Meridian Zero Degrees and the Entrepreneur Business of the Year Award to Green Gate Olive Oils.

Felton Capel and Century Associates received an honorary lifetime membership from the Chamber.

The Powell Award honors the accomplishments of an individual or organization that demonstrated a tremendous positive impact on the community, with a goal of advancing commerce or community in the last year.

"The Chamber is proud to present this award to St. Joseph of the Pines," said Ken Lewis, 2011 chairman of the board. "They truly demonstrated excellence, creativity and initiative in all they did throughout 2010 - an unbelievably challenging year."

For consideration of the award nominees needed to demonstrate success in one or more of the following areas:

n Community volunteer - working without compensation for a business, government or nonprofit organization to better the Moore County community.

n Service to a nonprofit organization - going above and beyond the call of duty in helping a nonprofit complete a project or meet its mission and doing so without compensation.

n Meet a specific need/challenge in the community - demonstrated accomplishment in the face of unforeseen challenges, changes or adversity.

This past year was one of expansion for St. Joseph of the Pines, continuing the legacy of the Sisters of Providence to care for those least able to care for themselves. St. Joseph of the Pines worked hard to meet the needs of the poor through housing and medical care, a Chamber news release said.

In addition, substantial financial investments and volunteer hours were contributed to a wide variety of nonprofit agencies around Moore County, impacting children, young adults, animal rights and education.

The year concluded with a public awareness campaign sponsored by St. Joseph of the Pines to educate the community about the homeless in Moore County. This campaign had direct impact on donations to local nonprofit agencies that serve the homeless, but, more importantly, it brought to light how much homelessness is truly impacting our community.

"St. Joseph of the Pines showed great creativity in addressing these challenges to meet the needs in the county," Lewis said. "Jan Powell, for whom this award is named, would be very proud to know this award went to an organization that was impacting our county so greatly."

Powell was a longtime volunteer and supporter of the Moore County Chamber of Commerce and several local nonprofits. She died in the summer of 2010.

In addition to the Janet Powell Award, an honorary lifetime membership was presented to Felton Capel and Century Associates. Capel built the business from the ground up, starting as a door-to-door salesman and ending as the owner of the company.

It wasn't long after he earned his first dollar that he began giving back to the community, both financially and in volunteer hours. As his business grew so did his commitment to Moore County, the Chamber said.

"He instilled passion, honesty, truth and commitment in his employees and in his children," the Chamber said in a news release. "He repeatedly stands for what is right, facing injustices head-on, not with confrontation, but with a firm resolve to overcome any prejudice.

"Felton has served our community as an elected official, as a major donor, as a bank director for several financial institutions ... and as a board member for the Chamber and countless other organization."

The Small Business and Entrepreneur Business of the Year awards were made possible through a partnership with Muirfield Broadcasting and in sponsorship with Quail Haven Village and Hicks & Associates, a financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.

"The Chamber is proud to announce the winners of these awards," Lewis said. "These companies clearly demonstrated that despite facing tremendous adversity they would do it all over again, and whose fervor for running a business is rivaled only by their willingness to serve the community."

The criteria for both awards included innovation, response to adversity and community involvement. For innovation the businesses needed to cite examples of marketing ideas, overcoming significant challenges, em-ployee relations, customer development, technology, distribution and competitive advantages.

In the category of adversity, the business needed to show how it addressed significant challenges, overcoming one or more of the following: employee relations, growth, training, retention, management and technology. In the last category, the business needed to indicate its involvement in the community, not including industry related organizations or affiliations.

"The Moore County Chamber of Commerce encourages the community to join us in congratulating these businesses who strive for excellence in all that they do and for all that they serve in Moore County," it said in a news release. "Both Meridian Zero Degrees and Green Gate Olive Oils have continually worked to advance commerce and community. The Chamber is pleased to have recognized these two businesses for their contributions to the community."