Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce hosts Annual Dinner and Business Meeting

[February 15, 2017]  On Thursday evening the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual dinner and business meeting at the American Legion in Lincoln. Approximately 125 guests were in attendance.

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.

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]