Seneca Co. Chamber Small Business Award: Barristers Bed & Breakfast

The Seneca County Chamber of Commerce has announced that Barristers Bed & Breakfast of 56 Cayuga Street in Seneca Falls was selected as the Chamber’s 2015 Small Business of the Year recipient. The award was announced and presented at the Chamber’s Annual Membership BBQ event, held at Knapp Vineyard Winery and Restaurant in Romulus on July 29th. Barristers Bed & Breakfast was one of the five businesses nominated by the Chamber membership. Additional nominees included ACE Automatics, Americana Vineyards, Seneca Falls Historical Society, and Sinicropi Florist.Barristers Bed & Breakfast was purchased in 2007 by current owners Ken and Diane McConnell. The home was built in 1860 by an attorney named Charles Weed and his wife Sarah. It was subsequently occupied by four other attorneys – thus earning the name Barrister’s. The McConnell family is only the fourth family to own the property since 1860. Designed with creativity and detail in mind, guests and visitors will find all the comforts of home with beautiful stained glass windows and several porches to take the beauty and history of Seneca Falls. Today Barristers Bed & Breakfast employs a team of two, owners Ken and Diane. A thriving member of the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce since 2002, the business continues to be a preferred place of rest in Seneca County with central access to wineries along the Seneca Lake Wine Trail and Cayuga Lake Wine Trail as well as historical sites in Seneca Falls. Open to guests year round, Barristers has five private rooms for guests to choose from, each having a private bath with a suite also available.left to right (Alison Hunt District Representative Congressman Tom Reeds Office, Jeff Shipley President/CEO Seneca County Chamber, Diane McConnell Owner Barristers Bed & Breakfast, Ken McConnell Owner Barristers Bed & Breakfast, Mark Benjamin Seneca County Chamber Board Chairperson and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano).Nearly 200 chamber and community members attended the 2015 Membership BBQ event in anticipation and support of the Small Business of the Year Award presentation. The program was developed by the Chamber in 2007 to recognize and celebrate the impact that small businesses have on local communities. Small businesses compose nearly 98 percent of businesses in New York State and account for more than half of the state’s private sector employment.The Chamber would like to congratulate all the businesses who were nominated this year and extend its sincere thanks to all of the attendees, sponsors, donors, and volunteers who helped make this event possible. Catering was provided by ACE Automatics and entertainment provided by The Casey McDonald Band. Event sponsors included: Becker McLean Company, Chemung Canal Trust Company, Evans Chemetics, Finger Lakes Health Medical, P.C., Finger Lakes Technologies Group, Five Star Bank, Gay & Son Agency, Inc., Lago Casino & Resort, L.M. Sessler Excavating and Wrecking, MRB Group, Ovid Community Health, and Select Eurocars, Inc. Donations for the event are made possible by Knapp Vineyard Winery & Restaurant; Finger Lakes Tables and Chairs, Lyons National Bank, Waterloo/Seneca Falls Holiday Inn, and Wadhams Enterprises.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. Established in 1968, the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce represents over 500 local and regional businesses and associate members. The Chamber provides initiative and leadership, offering programs and benefits that promote its members, foster economic development, and enhance the quality of life in Seneca County. The Chamber is also the official Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA) for Seneca County, providing tourism marketing services to generate additional exposure and publicity for area attractions. The Chamber houses two on-site Visitors Centers at its main location- including its business office and the famous historical windmill building located along routes 5&20, and also staffs information centers at the PETRO rest stop along the New York State Thruway, and at Waterloo Premium Outlets. Visit www.senecachamber.org or www.fingerlakescentral.com for more information.