The Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce held the 28th annual Spirit Awards on Saturday June 12 at Ontelaunee Park.

The event included breakfast catered by Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn and live music from Kendal Conrad as well as the presentation of the Spirit Award, Business of the Year Award, and Non-Profit of the Year Award.

“These residents, business owners and community organizers go above and beyond every single day,” said Andy Gildner, chair of the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

The Spirit Award was presented to Nancy Treskot of Walnutport for her work as a volunteer and community leader. Treskot has been a past president of the Slatington Junior Women’s Club, the Northeast Berks Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce. She has also been involved with the Walnutport Canal Association, Walnutport Playground Association’s Carnival Committee and multiple community, education, and parent committees in Berks, Pike and Wayne counties.

“We are all volunteers,” said Treskot. “We have all looked at each other and tried to help each other through the last year. This isn’t about one person. This is about all of you and how dedicated you have become to this particular area.”

The Business of the Year Award was given to Bechtel’s Pharmacy, located in Slatington.

Bechtel’s Pharmacy was started in 1961 by Joseph Bechtel, and his son Edward joined the business in 1983. Another son Jack later joined the business as its business manager.

The business is a basic community pharmacy focused mostly on filling prescriptions. In recent years it has expanded to offer adult vaccinations, medicine synchronization plans, and compliance packaging. It even began doing curbside delivery during the pandemic.

Bechtel’s Pharmacy earned this award in the same year that it celebrated being in business for 60 years.

“I know that our nomination was set to coincide with our 60th anniversary, but I’d like to think that we got this award because for 60 years we were doing something right and I hope we’re able to do it for at least another 30,” Ed Bechtel said.

Joe, Ed and Jack have all been heavily involved in their local community in Slatington as well as in the Lehigh Valley, and Joseph and Jack are past recipients of the Spirit Award.

“It’s an honor and a privilege for me to be able to serve my family and friends in the community in which I was raised, in the community in which I raised my kids, the community I call home,” Ed Bechtel said.

The Non-Profit of the Year Award went to K9 Kop Project. This nonprofit was founded by Vickie Richards, a native of the Lehigh Valley and a U.S. Army veteran.

“This is truly an honor and we were really surprised when we heard we were given this award,” Richards said.

The mission of K9 Kop Project is to ensure that K9 units have the support, equipment, and finances they need to execute the critical operations they are tasked with every day to protect people from harm.

“We just thought it was going to be one project with one K9 and it was going to be done and out of the blue I started learning about all these officers that needed assistance because their K9 units don’t have budgets for them.”

The organization hopes that the public will attain a heightened awareness of the special role that K9 units play in keeping us safe and that K9 support throughout the United States will rise so that no K9 units’ needs will go unmet.