Saratoga County Chamber Announces Award Recipients

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce announced this week that Colleen Carlson will be its 2025 Joseph Dalton Community Service Award recipient.

Chad Kiesow, the COO of Stewart’s Shops, will also be honored by the Chamber for serving as its 2024 Chair of the Board.

Carlson is the Director of Sales for the Saratoga Casino Hotel and has been with the organization for more than 40 years. She is a founding member of the Board of Directors at Jake’s Help from Heaven and currently serves as the organization’s treasurer. The nonprofit helps to create opportunities for individuals with complex medical needs and disabilities to thrive.

“When we started in 2011, I cried over each grant,” Carlson said in a statement. “Now I find joy in the support and quality of life opportunities Jake’s Help from Heaven gives to so many families.”

Carlson’s past volunteer work includes serving as the general manager and host family coordinator for the Saratoga Phillies baseball organization. Her involvement with the Phillies led to her appointment by Mayor Scott Johnson to the Saratoga Springs Recreation Committee, where she became the vice chair. For the past ten years, she has served on the Adirondack Trust Fund Advisory Committee. From 2013 to 2022, she served on the Board of Directors of the Saratoga Hospital Foundation. And in her role with the Saratoga Casino Hotel, Carlson has worked with numerous local charitable organizations to organize successful fundraisers from the Wesley Community to Saratoga Hospital, to Sponsor-A-Scholar, and more.

Past recipients of the Joseph Dalton Community Service Award include: Steve Sullivan (2018); Tom Roohan (2019); John Munter, Sr. (2020); Julie Stokes (2021); L. Clifford Van Wagner (2022); Dr. William Long (2023); and Cindy Hollowood (2024). 

Carlson will be presented with the 2025 award at the Annual Chamber Celebration on Thursday, May 8.