Nearly 300 people came together on Saturday night to celebrate the best of Gloucester County business at the Chamber of Commerce Mardi Gras Ball and Awards Reception at the Abingdon Ruritan Club, Bena.

The guests enjoyed a night of dinner and dancing at the Mardi Gras-themed event, with the chamber recognizing its 2017 award nominees and presenting plaques to recipients in five different categories.

This year’s recipients included Michelle Green and her team at Blown Away Salon for Small Business of the Year; Nichola Redmond and Kristen Solada of the Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society for Nonprofit Organization of the Year; Michele Harrison of Moxie Design for Best New Business; Juan Carrillo of Juan’s Mexican Café and Cantina for Professional of the Year, and Martha Soles of The Silver Box for the LOVE Gloucester Award.

Event committee members Meredith Powell of Woodforest National Bank and Marsha Weatherwax of Allstate Insurance presented the awards.

“As w...