Evelyn Zupo, an active member of the community as well as a creative fundraiser and volunteer in numerous non-profit organizations in the Tonawandas, has been named Citizen of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas.

In addition, Industrial Tool Sharpening Inc. has been named 2009 Business of the Year.

Both will be honored at a dinner at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at Banchetti by Rizzo’s, Amherst.

“Choosing just one person to be named Citizen of the Year is never an easy thing and this year was no exception,” Joyce Santiago, director of the Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas said.

“Evelyn is one of the hardest working people I know,” Santiago continued. “She is so busy that I think even she was surprised when I began listing all of her volunteer efforts and how it added up. I know she doesn’t do it for the recognition but she definitely deserves to be honored.”

Zupo is a lifelong resident of the City of Tonawanda and 1978 graduate of Tonawanda High School.

Among her community activities are serving on the special events committee for the United Way of the Tonawandas and the Gateway Harbor concert series.

For the past four years, she has served on the board of directors of Zonta International, currently serving as vice president of the Tonawanda chapter. She is also on the board of North Tonawanda Meals on Wheels and the Riviera Theatre, where she serves as treasurer and a member of the Friends of the Riviera Theatre.

Zupo is a member of the events and membership committees of the Chamber of Commerce as well as a member of the Elks Lodge No. 860.

Her “real job,” as Zupo calls it, is banking officer and relationship manager at Key Bank in North Tonawanda.

“I feel so honored and I’m so proud to be part of this group (of former Citizens of the Year),” she said at the luncheon on Tuesday which honored her induction into the group.

“When Joyce (Santiago) told me I’d been selected, I burst into tears,” Zupo said. “I thought to myself, ‘not in a million years would this happen’ — it was so emotional.”

She was recently honored with the Rising Star award by the Tonawanda News as well as the service award from the YWCA of the Tonawandas.

Zupo was quick to credit her coworkers and colleagues whom, she said, helped out on every project she’s been involved in.

“This award is as much theirs as mine,” she said.

Each year the chamber also chooses a company to honor that has had a positive impact on the community.

Industrial Tool Sharpening, 615 Walck Road, North Tonawanda, deserves such recognition, Santiago said.

“It was my pleasure to learn more about this business and how it came about,” Santiago said. “It is a fascinating success story and I’m glad it is taking place here in the Tonawandas. The owners are hometown people who really add to the Tonawandas.”

From its humble beginnings in 1986 as a part-time business, the company can today boast growth, innovation and a success story with a bright future.

Brothers Troy, Tom and Terry Brosius, North Tonawanda natives, with the help of family patriarch, Donald Brosius, began the business as a tool re-sharpening service with the hopes of supplementing their incomes.

Through the years their operation has expanded and the company now employs 16 people and works with companies in 20 states across the U.S.

In 2008, the company added a new division, American Coating Concepts Inc., to complement their work.

The company sponsors girls softball teams and assists with other sporting programs as well as being involved with Make a Wish and the North Tonawanda food pantry.

Currently two interns from the North Tonawanda High School’s Academy of Architecture and Engineering program are working at the firm. The owners hope to instill in them the importance of craftsmanship and quality that they provide and take pride in.

“It’s an honor to be able to recognize people and companies that believe in our community,” Santiago said. “I’m delighted that the Chamber has continued this tradition through the years.”

Tickets for the dinner are $35. For more information or tickets, call the Chamber at 692-5120.