Chamber honors business leaders

September 26, 1997

By DAVE McMILLION

Staff Writer

Charles Sekula believes every youth in the United States should travel abroad at least once to appreciate the freedoms they have here.

Sekula didn't speak English when he left Germany with the dream of starting a restaurant here, and he was turned down twice when he applied for development funds to start his Schmankerl Stube restaurant.

But Sekula's South Potomac Street restaurant finally became reality. He opened his business in the face of crime problems in the neighborhood, and today the popular restaurant continues to grow.

Sekula was named Chamber Business Volunteer of the Year Thursday night during the 78th annual meeting of the Hagerstown- Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

Sekula said it was an award he would have never received in Germany.

"This country is the greatest country we can live in," said Sekula.

Sekula operated the chamber's Oktoberfest tent during the Great Hagerstown Air Show three weeks ago.

He was a driving force throughout the event and a "tireless worker," chamber officials said.

Organizers of the annual chamber meeting, held at the Four Points Hotel, also named Vincent Dellaposta as the Chamber Small Business Person of the Year and Wayne E. Alter Jr. as the Chamber Business Person of the Year.

Dellaposta operates Word Processing Services, a photocopy machine and fax machine business.

Alter is the founder of Dynmark Security Centers, which recently was named one of the "top 100 franchised" businesses in the world.

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