GRCA celebrates local businesses at space-themed annual dinner

More than 700 people gathered at the Santander Arena Wednesday for a space-themed annual dinner of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance. 

The evening began with a showcase featuring companies that have worked directly or indirectly with NASA.  

Guests also heard from keynote speaker and former NASA Astronaut, Mike Massimino. 

Massimino told the crowd about being rejected by NASA three times before finally being accepted into the 1996 astronaut class.  

He encouraged the audience to never crush the ideas of the new person on your team, even if they aren’t good, because they’ll be less likely to share when they have a good idea.  

He also reflected on his role in a complex repair of the Hubble Space Telescope, encouraging the audience to trust their tools, training and team when facing high-pressure challenges.  

“You never know when innovation is going to come,” he said.  

 Massimino also talked about sending the first tweet from space.  

He said that while his first reaction was “Take that, Neil Armstrong,” he soon after received an email from his kids telling him that not only were their friends making fun of him, but also the comedians on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update.  

The evening continued with recognizing the 50 companies that made up the Business Excellence Awards in Category 1. Vision Mechanical Inc., Irish Creek Construction and Shark took the top three spots.  

Those were all for-profit companies, with revenues of at least $1 million in each of the past three fiscal years.  

Twenty small businesses were recognized in Category 2 with Blades of Steel Landscaping, Bime Beauty and Disc Centers of America making up the top three. Those are for-profit businesses, with revenues of at least $250,000 in each of the past three fiscal years.  

“The Annual Dinner was a strong reflection of the innovation and forward momentum across the Greater Reading business community,” said Jeff Rush, chairman of the GRCA board. “With a nod to exploration and discovery, the evening highlighted businesses that are leading the way and setting a high standard for growth in Berks County.”