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 The evening began with an opening prayer and blessing on the meal by
Pastor Larry Crawford of Open Arms Fellowship Church in Lincoln. Guests
then enjoyed a buffet meal catered by Hilltop Catering.
Following the dinner Chamber President Cathy Wilhite, Board President
Greg Basford, Chamber Events Coordinator Kari Adams, and Office Manager
Tina Rusk all addressed the group.
Board President Greg Basford welcomed guests and issued several thank
yous including to dinner sponsors CEFCU and Invenergy, the caterers, the
American Legion, and this year’s dinner committee.
Basford then introduced Cathy Wilhite, the Chamber President. Wilhite
spoke briefly about the 2016 year, saying that she was happy to have
welcomed 21 new chamber members in 2016, plus another 65 members who
were returning to the Chamber after “drifting away” for a period.
Wilhite spoke about the mission of the Chamber to work to promote Logan
County businesses, and foster relationships with other organizations in
the county and to help grow the entire community.
She commended her staff for their good work and said they were moving
forward with optimism.
Another part of the evening program was a brief outline by Chamber Event
Coordinator Kari Adams about the coming year of events. New for this
year will be an expansion of the 2016 Zombie Run done in partnership
with the ALMH Market. In 2017 the Zombie Run will be held at the Logan
County Fairgrounds on October 21st.
On October 20th and 21st will be the Ride of Terror on 66. The new event
will feature a terrorizing hay ride, with more details to be announced
later this year.
Absent from the list of festivals for 2017 is the Art in the Park event
held in July. For the last two years, the Art in the Park event has not
proven to be successful, primarily due to weather and extreme heat, but
also it is becoming less popular in general, and did not work well as a
stand-alone event.
Adams said this year the Chamber is going to work toward adding the art
and craft component back to the annual Balloon Festival, with hopes of
having something in the downtown area during balloon festival weekend.
Again, there will be more details as the date approaches.
Returning this year will be the highly successful Pigs and Swigs
Festival held in June, and the Lincoln Balloon Festival held in August.
Other Chamber events will include the Ag Day Breakfast on March 23rd,
the Chamber Golf Outing on June 9th, Shop Logan County will begin on
November 6th, and the Lincoln Christmas Parade will be held on December
7th.
During the dinner, the annual report for the chamber was provided at
each place setting. The report included membership information over the
last four years. In 2012 the membership totaled 294. Memberships dropped
in 2013, 14, and 15 to reach a low of 278.
In 2016, one of the primary goals of the chamber staff and volunteers
was to re-build the membership numbers. By the end of the year
memberships had climbed back up to 283.
Memberships do have a large impact on the financial status of the
Chamber. In 2016 the chamber financials show that the year ended in a
negative. The chamber took in $291,820.37 and expended $313,356.44 for a
net loss for the year of $21,736.07.
Chamber Office Manager Tina Rusk presented the annual financial
statement. Rusk noted in the report that there were years to compare
that would show that the Chamber did have growth in 2016. After
reviewing the report, Basford asked for the general membership to vote
to approve the report.
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Basford also addressed the audience, saying to start that the Chamber
staff have had another challenging year. He noted with all sincerity
that as a member of the board, he was going into 2017 with a new
optimism. He complemented Wilhite on her hard work and said she had come
into the Chamber with a new and fresh perspective.
He mentioned the new location for the Chamber, saying that having a
downtown location with space and meeting rooms is wonderful.
Basford said that looking at the Chamber, the goal is to provide
benefits to the membership. He noted that members pay their dues with an
expectation that the Chamber would be providing something of value in
return.
Basford went on to talk about change. He said “change is coming” it is
something unavoidable, so those changes need to be met and need to
benefit the membership.
He went on to talk about the board of directors, saying they are a
committed board who want to move the Chamber and the community forward.
“These are challenging times in our world, our country, in our state, in
our county, and in our community. The challenges we face are not unique
to us; they are everywhere. How we choose to address those will help
drive our future success. We are not just standing by, the leadership
and staff are committed to the future. We are growing. I think the
results speak for themselves,” Basford said.
One component of the Chamber that has gone missing is Legislative
Affairs. Basford assured the group that a Legislative Affairs committee
is being formed and that important component of the Chamber will be
returning in the near future.
Basford went on to talk about the sacrifice of time involved in serving
on committees. He also talked about the financial investments of the
membership and said that the Chamber was conscientious about the money
and time support that it asks for from its membership. He noted that
when the chamber comes to members seeking time, talent, and financial
support, they are doing so with causes that they feel will benefit the
entire business community.
Basford closed saying, “At the end of the day, this is your
organization. We are all just volunteers, trying to make this a better,
more prosperous business community in Lincoln and Logan County. We hope
you see that positive growth and activity and we hope you feel your
chamber is working for you.”
Basford then introduced the winners of this year’s Pride and Progress
Awards.
- New Business of the Year – Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital
Market
- Excellence in Customer Service – Russell Stover Candies
- Distinguished Business of the Year – Copper Creek Cottage
- Volunteer of the Year – Jim Bishop
- Doug DeMay Volunteer of the Year – Jennifer Kirby
- Educator of the Year – Eric Grunder, Lincoln College
- Ambassador of the Year – Roy Logan
In other business, Keith Snyder and Tom O’Donohue were acknowledged and
thanked for their time spent on the Chamber Board of Directors. Snyder
and O’Donohue rotated off the board this year. Basford presented each
with a plaque in appreciation of their time spent with the Chamber.
Replacing Snyder and O’Donohue on the board are Chris Nobbe and Don
Peasley. Both were called forward and sworn into their positions on the
board. Peasley is a long standing member of the Chamber, is a Chamber
Ambassador, and has served on the board of directors in the past. He is
the owner of Peasley Funeral Homes.
Nobbe is a first time member of the board. She and husband Todd are the
owners of Nobbe Eyecare Center in Lincoln.
Current members of the board of directors include Basford as president,
Sal Pollice as vice-president, Dr. Frank Adubato as treasurer, Jean
Bruner-Jachino, Nobbe, and Peasley. Wilhite said that the Chamber would
be seeking additional board members in 2017.
[Nila Smith] |
