In October 2009, Miller-Motte College first started offering classes in part of the former Walmart building on Ramsey Street. The for-profit school greeted close to 500 students that first year.

Now, 770 students are enrolled in the college.

On Friday night, the Fayetteville campus of Miller-Motte College was honored with the prestigious Business of the Year Award by the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce. David Sessoms, who was the campus director from the start, called the recognition life-changing.

"It means a lot to me, and it means a lot to the staff and students," he said following the presentation of the awards.

The Business of the Year Award was announced at the tail end of the Chamber of Commerce's annual banquet at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux and Conference Center. The program, attended by 388 business leaders from the community, is all about recognizing the hard work and achievement of the business community.

Miller-Motte College, a chain of colleges in the southern United States, caters to older adults and recent high school graduates who want hands-on training. The local campus offers day and night programs in barbering, cosmetology, criminal justice, esthetics technology, medical assisting and billing, and paralegal studies.

Its programs are designed to get students good - and local - jobs as quickly as possible.

Sessoms, a 37-year-old Wilmington native, has been on a roll: Last year, he won the chamber's Volunteer of the Year Award.

"It's really an honor to be in this city," said Sessoms, who graduated from Miller-Motte's Wilmington location in 1998 with a degree in medical assistance.

Other finalists for Business of the Year were K3 Enterprises and Construction Systems Inc.

In all, the chamber doled out a half-dozen awards on Friday.

The Athena Award honors those who have helped advance the role of women in the workplace. Like Business of the Year, it's a highly regarded honor in the Fayetteville business community.

This year's winner was Dineen Morton of the home health care provider Bayada Nurses.

Morton, 50, and a graduate of Fayetteville State University, entered the field of hospice and home care a decade ago. She serves as a mentor for the nursing staff and health aides, after devoting her life's work to assisting women.

"It has been an honor - Lord and God," Morton said, before pausing to take a deep breath, "to win this award. I am just so grateful ..."

The Realtor Cup, which goes to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the civic, industrial and cultural growth of the Fayetteville area, was given to Ron Matthews. Matthews, 63, is at the helm of Family Foods Inc., which runs Taco Bells in this state and others.

"I'm so blessed to be here, so proud to be here and to serve," said Matthews, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam.

He dedicated the award to Hugh Taylor, his late father-in-law who established the business in 1971. "It honors the gentleman who always believed in me, and I loved him like a father," he said.

Other awards included:

The Fayetteville Young Professionals Award, given to Robert "Jason" Poole, 36. He's a partner with the Fayetteville firm Todd, Rivenbark & Puryear, PLLC.

The Leadership Fayetteville Award, presented for outstanding achievement for helping the Leadership Fayetteville programs, given to Carolyn Justice-Hinson, a 44-year-old spokeswoman for the Public Works Commission.

The Chairman's Award, largely honoring a board member who goes above and beyond the call of duty, given to Steve Mannell, 45, the chief financial officer of the defense contractor Strategic Solutions Unlimited. The company hires military retirees and provides training and security expertise to Defense Department employees.

Mannell is a former vice-chairman of small business at the chamber.

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Originally written for the Fay Observer by staff writer This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .