PARIS — A longtime radio broadcaster and his station manager are on the Oxford Hill Chamber of Commerce’s annual list of business and community award winners. 

At a news conference at the chamber Monday morning, Norway-based radio station WOXO was named the Business of the Year and its station manager, Victor Hodgkins, as well as Papoose Pond Campground and Resort general manager Jim Cameron, Employee of the Year.

The Rising Star winners are Oxford-based Bearfoot Realty and Norway wedding barn operators Granite Ridge Estate and Barn.

Steve Veazey was the recipient of the Community Service award for his work reaching out to educate businesses, but he was not able to attend the gathering. 

The recipients were nominated by the business community and chosen by chamber officials. 

The business owners conveyed optimism that, moving forward, the economic fortunes in the county were climbing an upward trend, fostered by a close community supportive effort to shop local. 

Dick Gleason, president and founder of Gleason Media Group, began broadcasting at WOXO in 1975, eventually expanding his business from Oxford Hills to Auburn. The broadcast of local sports, country music and NASCAR races can be heard from Rangeley to Kennebunk, according to the WOXO website. The company has around 20 employees among three offices and six radio stations.

“The vision is very simple: community. We’ve always wanted to be a community radio,” Gleason said.  

“No one has put more effort into the communities of Oxford Hills than Dick Gleason and his company,” Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Williams said. 

He said the awards were an important moment to recognize the accomplishments of  “the best and brightest” of Oxford Hills. 

“Our return on investment is sitting around this table,” Williams said.  

Hodgkin, who rose through the ranks from a copy writer to station manager over the past 30 years with the company, said he was given a shot to work after going through a rough patch in his life. 

“For 30 plus years I’ve collected a W-2 from Dick Gleason and I’m very proud of that,” Hodgkin said. “He allows you to go as far as you can go. I was a shoe shop worker with no experience in radio,” he said. 

Monica Laverdiere’s company, Bearfoot Realty, joined the real estate market in 2010 amid a recession, rising to become one of the most successful outfits in the region, according to Williams. 

“I wanted to do it my way, the best way, and be creative to help people who didn’t think they could buy a house and be a homeowner,” Laverdiere said. 

Anthony Fratianne and Melanie Roy of Granite Ridge Estate and Barn received approval from the town of Norway this past summer to begin using the rural lodge and barn to host weddings and other functions. The duo said they’ve already booked 11 weddings for the Delano Drive building for the upcoming season. 

“There’s a whole lot going on in the Hills, and I think people are beginning to see that,” Roy said. 

Cameron, who oversees up to 60 employees when tourists flock to the Waterford campground during the summer, said the community reaction to economic downtown had engineered a stronger recovery still. 

“It’s a fantastic place to live and we’ve seen new businesses . . . on Main Street and in other areas,” Cameron said. 

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, will be the keynote speaker when the businesses are formally honored at the chamber’s annual awards banquet on March 7. 

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