Seneca County Chamber Announces 2025 Annual Dinner Award Winners
The Seneca County Chamber of Commerce recently hosted its 58th Annual Chamber Dinner at Ventosa Vineyards on Thursday, January 22nd, 2026.
In attendance were various members of the Chamber and community, including Assemblyman Palmesano, Senator O'Mara, and Governor Hochul's Representative Jacob Gilbert-Mahoney.
The event was held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a silent auction, live auction, and the Community Awards Presentation.
Project of the year was awarded to the Bonafiglia Family Foundation for their work on the Seneca Falls murals, and the award was sponsored by Bill Cram Chevrolet. The Bonafiglia Family Foundation worked hard with several local and regional businesses to create two new murals in the town on Seneca Falls to highlight the Town of Seneca Falls history, identify to a broader audience and strengthen community placemaking. The murals have also been created to help enhance tourism by building on the success of previous public art efforts in the town. These efforts work to increase pedestrian activity and tourism in the area, and make Seneca Falls a place that generates national, state, and county-wide media exposure. This exposure can continue to showcase that Seneca Falls is a great place to visit, work, and live.
The Menzo Case Humanitarian of the Year Award was awarded to the Town of Ovid for their collective effort in battling the fire that burned down numerous businesses and residences in January of 2025. This award was sponsored by ITT Goulds Pumps. In sub-zero wind chills, first responders from across the County and beyond gathered to fight the Main Street Fire while protecting nearby structures overnight. In addition to first responders, an overwhelming community response helped support impacted community members. Nearby businesses offered shelter and food; local residents offered blankets and clothing, and nonprofits mobilized a relief effort to gather additional food, clothing, and other supplies in the days following the fire.
The Business of the Year was awarded to Montezuma Winery & Hidden Marsh Distillery and was sponsored by Cayuga Nation Enterprises. In 2025 they expanded their tasting room to 5,700 square feet to offer seating space, a kitchen offering food and a bigger gift shop. Montezuma Winery received two big awards in 2025: Best in Class Ginger Liqueur at the Finger Lakes International Wine & Spirits competition, and the Best Specialty Wine for their Crimson Queen at the New York Wine Classic. In addition to receiving some major awards, Montezuma Winery acquired Swedish Hill Winery and rebranded Penguin Bay Winery on Seneca Lake to Either Oar Wine, Whiskey, & Cheese Bar. Particularly impressive, Montezuma grew its existing business by over eight percent during a market downturn for the industry.
The Seneca County Chamber of Commerce would like to express its sincere gratitude to our many sponsors and donors who made this wonderful event possible. We want to thank our Main Event Sponsor, ITT Goulds Pumps, our Reception Sponsor, Lyons National Bank, and our Auction Sponsor, Cayuga Nation Enterprises. We would also like to thank our Audio & Visual sponsor, Visual Technologies, and our floral sponsor, Sinicropi Florist. Thank you to our Auctioneer, Carrie Hessney Doran with Hessney Auction Company, our Table Wine Sponsor Boundary Breaks Vineyard, our Gold Star Sponsors Bill Cram Chevrolet & Cayuga Nation Enterprises, our Silver Star Sponsor Northeast College of Health Sciences, our Bronze Star Sponsors Chemung Canal Trust Company, Wadhams Enterprises, Empire Access, and our North Star Sponsors Doran Funeral Home, Wyckoff Travel, and Bella Jewellers.
We want to thank everyone for their time, donations, and effort that went into making this event possible, including everyone who donated to our auctions and those who attended to make sure everything ran smoothly.
For more information about this event or for details about Chamber membership, benefits and programs, please call (315) 568-2906 or visit www.senecachamber.org.
