PUEBLO, Colo. — The Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce is celebrating a year of local business success by holding a Business Awards Luncheon.
During the luncheon, the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce will be awarding the Business of the Year Award and the Charles W. Crews Business Leader Award.
The Business of the Year Award will be presented to TR Toppers. TR Toppers is a locally owned and operated candy crushing and distributing company that employs over 175 people.
They operate out of a 200,000-square-foot facility that includes four separate production rooms, frozen, refrigerated, dry warehouse space, a transportation division and a lab.
What put them into a category of their own this year, was the priority they place on impeccable customer service. They always say yes to every customer request, and are very accommodating when it comes to their deliveries.
The award-winning business began in 1993 when three brothers, Tim, Greg and Bob Rode, opened their business on the second floor of the Alpha Beta Plant, where they spent all day and night chopping candy and filling orders.
In the last five years, they have been awarded the Supplier of the Year from both Sonic and Dairy Queen. They also support over 16 local operations within Pueblo, and have become such a pillar due to their long-term employment benefits and emphasis on fantastic employee support.
The other half of the luncheon will be spent celebrating Kari Gonzales, the president and CEO of MxV Rail.
Gonzales started her career as an intern in rail, and over the course of 20 years, built her way up accumulating knowledge, skill, and expertise which has allowed her to oversee the astronomical transformation of the MxV Rail's services and facilities.
Before moving into the position of CEO, Gonzales served as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for MxV Rail. In this position, she was responsible for company-wide strategic planning, and business operations.
When she made the jump to CEO, she led a 27,000-hour move and relocated 100 million dollars in assets and training props. Due to her work on the project, they were able to open and establish a new multi-campus research facility. This led to the entire company rebranding.
Gonzales leads by example every day, and sees opportunities where others might see the chance to fail. She has established a senior leadership team that features seven out of ten female executives.
Under her leadership, MxV Rail has become a premier rail advisory and a great source of pride for the Pueblo Community.
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