Some people have a natural way about them, a charisma, which makes you want to get to know them, even before you’re introduced.

Betsey Baio is one of those people.

If you’ve ever been to New York Pizzeria, you probably know Betsey as she and her husband Frank own the New Berlin eatery. But until fairly recently I had never had the privilege of dining there. (I do, after all, live on the other end of the county.) So the first time I met Betsey was not at their well known establishment, but rather at a Commerce Chenango event held at the Canasawacta Country Club.

If memory serves, the occasion was the chamber’s 50th Anniversary Gala, which means I’d been on the job here at The Evening Sun for six months or so.

I’d already found myself a seat and was getting myself (and my camera and notepad) situated, when I saw a stylish woman wending her way through the tables. Her progress was halting, since she took the time to greet almost every gala-goer she encountered in her path. Which gave me plenty of time to admire her fashionable dress, and her oh-so- incredible shoes.

I was too busy coveting her wardrobe to realize that she had paused once more in her circuit of the room, this time at my very elbow. Looking up, I met eyes that gleamed with humor and a smile nothing short of radiant.