WINDSOR – Suppose you woke up and found your office under 16 feet of water?

That question was posed to the chamber of commerce director’s in the Northeastern section of North Carolina recently. The reason: one of them did.

Collins Cooper, director of the Windsor-Bertie Chamber of Commerce for the past four years, saw his office on York Street in Windsor completely flooded by the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole.

Not only did the Chamber relocate and open its doors in less than a week, Cooper made sure services continued to be offered to its members and activities continued in the county.

It is that type of hard work that led to his selection as Executive Director of the Year from the Northeast Commission Chambers of Commerce recently.

“I was honored, but I was also shocked,” Cooper said. “There are so many good, hard-working Chamber directors in the northeast part of this state that it made me feel very honored.”

Cooper said Allen Purser, director of the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce, was one of the people he felt did an excellent job during the year. He said it was a credit that Purser presented him with the award.

As he looked at his four years as Chamber director, Cooper said he was proud of the implementation of the Black History Month banquet, the EMS Recognition banquet and the fall and spring festivals.

“Although it has moved to another location, we also had a hand in getting the Farmer’s Market started when we were on York Street,” Cooper said.

The main thing he was pleased about, however, was the effort to unite all of Bertie County under the Chamber banner.

“One of the things I’m proudest of is the way we’ve worked to bring all the communities together,” he said. “That is why our slogan is United Communities. We want all the communities of Bertie County to be part of the Chamber.”

Cooper was the second person to ever receive the award.