For the ninth year in a row, the theme of the evening was Celebrate as the Belleville Chamber of Commerce officially recognized their 162nd President’s Dinner with presenting sponsor OLG along with Elexicon Energy, supported by a new theme sponsor – the Ontario Career Lab. Elevation AV transformed the Ramada by Wyndham Windows Ballroom and there was a highschool flashback feel as guests came dressed in their dream career – or what they love to do today. Tulips & Maple provided delicious food stations (complete with cafeteria trays) and followed by dessert trays.
In addition to the recognition of the service of retiring members, the Belleville Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients of the ninth edition of the Cornerstone Awards, featuring the people behind the businesses in our community.
Recognition for their contributions to the Board were retiring members Chris Auger, Trent Valley Distributors, who has now completed his service as Past-President and Cristina Cadavid, who moved from volunteer to the position of Member Services Specialist with the Belleville Chamber in January.
The President’s Recognition Award is presented by the outgoing President to someone they believe has gone above and beyond for the Chamber. This year’s recipient is Sandi Ramsay, credited by Lisa Comerford for her dedicated support of the Board of Directors and Ontario Career Lab program as a frequent “career coach”; a program that redefined the Chamber’s connection to the community through youth and engaging in over 90,000 minutes of career conversations in the spring of 2025. The connection to her role with the Centre for Workforce Development is clear and aligns with the transition of the Chamber to be more engaged with their members in this way.
Lisa Comerford, Central Lakes Association of Realtors received recognition for her service as the 161st President in 2025/2026, presented by President Sandi Ramsay, CEO, Centre for Workforce Development. Mayor Neil Ellis also presented Lisa with the Heart of the City, a new commendation created to recognize the work of individuals to the community through the Chamber.
Following acknowledgements of service of the Board members, the Belleville Chamber of Commerce turned their attention to celebrating the contributions of their members through a variety of awards and the stories behind the recipients.
The COMMUNITY PARTNER award is presented to a person or organization that has been a valued partner with Chamber initiatives and they receive the honorary “Key to the Cabin”. The tradition started with the Rotary Club of Belleville, in honour of the 100 year commitment to work together. This year, a nomination was received to support the work of the Belleville Senators in the community and their transformational approach to the community. From their continued work supporting local charities through the Senators Foundation to many of their staff participating as Career Coaches, the Chamber is happy to recognize the impact of this organization.
The Cornerstone awards are meant to distinguish and recognize members who have exemplified citizenship, founding, mentoring and vision and helped our community prosper.
The CITIZENSHIP award is presented to a Chamber member who has embraced the spirit of the community by their selfless acts and support to causes that improve the lives of Belleville’s citizens. Lorrie Ostroskie, also nominated for the award, has embraced the opportunities her role as General Manager of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites to get involved in causes, particularly those involving children.
The FOUNDER award is presented to a Chamber member who has built a business from its beginning or expanded an existing business that enhances the reputation of Belleville as a place where business can come to grow. The award was presented to Keith Watson, of Watson Land Surveyors. Following in his father’s footsteps, he holds more information about the mapping of the region (and Ontario) and has worked on the layout and design of properties such as the Quinte Mall, Metro, Walmart and the fields at Mary Ann Sills park. His son, Dylan is now articling to be a land surveyor – a craft and trade unknown to many, but essential to development everywhere.
The VISIONARY award is presented to a Chamber member who has seen an opportunity to revive or create something unique or unprecedented. Their dedication to this vision has resulted in raising the profile of Belleville and has contributed to the overall prosperity of the community. The vision of Bill Campbell dates back almost half a century, but at a time when succession planning is a critical concern of government, he developed an employee ownership model that broke barriers to building a company that is wholly owned by its employees. He also set up a trust that is used to support the Campbell Craft guarantee, that means they retain responsibility for every memorial they hand craft – right here in Belleville. The benefits of that trust are used to support cemetery vandalism, aging monument restoration and the overall maintenance of cemeteries across the province.
Ultimately, the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award could receive each of these awards individually. This year, the Belleville Chamber of Commerce recognized Peter Kempenaar. As one of the longest serving members of the Belleville Chamber Board in recent history, his passion for the work of the chamber and its role as an advocate for business has been inspiring within the organization. He founded Taskforce Engineering with Dave Brown, after devoting many years to Bel-Con. He’d thought they’d “stay small” but he didn’t have much luck with that. His quiet contributions to the Field of Ability and the Humane Society don’t make the news often, but he builds the foundations for these organizations to grow. Topping it off is his representation of Canada as part of a rowing team that competes internationally, acknowledging “rowing” saved his life and there is nothing like standing on a podium for your country.
Peter joins past recipients Maurice Rollins, Gerry Bongard, Alvin Parkhurst, Ed Lehtinen, Armin Quickert, Bob Doyle, Peter Knudsen, Roli & Linda Tipper and BernieOuellet, as a most deserving representative and we thank him for his continued service to the transportation industry and property development in Belleville.
The stories and slideshows for each award can be viewed here https://www.bellevillechamber.ca/bcc-hall-of-fame/
