The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce honored Palmerton's Mayor Christopher Olivia Tuesday evening with the Mayor of the Year award. The award was presented to him at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Olivia said he was shocked to hear his name called."I didn't know about it until the lady said the mayor is from the home of Pencor, Olivia said. "My wife knew for a month."She wasn't the only one who knew. So did his daughter, the borough manager Rodger Danielson, Palmerton Councilman Terry Costenbader and his wife, and as it turned out, a whole bunch of other people, too."Terry's wife said (at the event), 'I've been telling everybody,' but not one person said anything to me," Olivia said.Marlyn Kissner, the executive vice president of the Northern Region of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and Carbon Chamber and Economic Development, said there are several factors in choosing a Mayor of the Year. The mayor should be a leader that exemplifies good government practices, supports the business community, maintains active community involvement and volunteerism, and be an initiator."On behalf of the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corp., we are excited for Mayor Olivia as he is very deserving of the "Mayor of the Year" award," Kissner said. "His passion and support, along with the dedication and collaborative efforts of local businesses, community leaders and residents makes Palmerton a great place to live, work and play. He is a wonderful advocate for one of Carbon's great small towns, and we are proud of the county's recognition.""I'm very proud," Olivia said about receiving the award. "I'm honored."Olivia said he thinks the success of the borough is reflective of the great working relationship he has with the council, municipal staff and police force.He is proud of the beauty of the borough, the community feeling and how the people gather so often in the borough park. Olivia is also optimistic about the future of the town and hopes the former zinc plant site will once again become a commercial site creating hundreds of jobs.In addition to receive an actual award, Olivia also received a $1,000 check to use for something for the borough. He said he plans to use the money to purchase a mobile computer system for the Palmerton Police Department's new police vehicle when it's purchased.Sgt. Christopher Ritter said the equipment is a Panasonic Toughpad equipped with a software called JNet for judicial network. The software will make traffic stops more efficient and quicker."The less time you're at a traffic stop, the safer you are," Ritter said.He explained that the more time an officer is outside of the vehicle among traffic, the longer he or she is at risk of getting struck by oncoming traffic.The software allows them to easily search driving records, vehicle registrations, people wanted for a crime, and the electronic program TRACS will allow the officers to send the citations directly to the magistrate.Mayor Tom Connors from Weatherly won "most entertaining" at the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce mayor's reception with 30 mayors from the region in attendance.