Preparation is well under way for this year's Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet and Awards of Excellence, scheduled for Monday, March 10. Chamber Executive Director Liz Smith said she's excited about sharing this year's theme with the community.
The annual banquet is an opportunity for the Chamber to celebrate the community and all of the hard work being done throughout the year, according to Smith. This year's theme is "Spirit of Courage," calling for all community members to have the courage to hope, dream, unite, act and change.
"I think it's going to be a very interesting evening as we're hoping to tie all of these ideas together in various ways throughout the night," Smith said. "I think the 'Spirit of Courage' is going to be a particularly valuable theme because it's going to enable us to talk about what we do and about what we need to do, and I think everyone will be able to relate to it in their own ways."
This year's event also marks to 10th anniversary for the Awards of Excellence portion of the evening. Smith said the banquet had featured keynote speaker in earlier years, but in 2005, the Chamber decided to shift the event's focus more toward the community and those working hard to make a positive impact.
"The idea was to focus more on the community," she said. "To bring the community into the banquet instead of just simply bringing a banquet into the community."
Awards will be presented this year for Large Business/Industry of the Year, Small Business/Industry of the Year and Pride and Property, as well as a new Citizen of the Year and a Lifetime Community Achievement recipient. To commemorate the 10th year of the Awards of Excellence, Smith said all of the previous Lifetime Achievement and Citizen of the Year winners will be honored.
The banquet also serves as the graduation ceremony for those going through the Blytheville Leadership Institute, and BLI member Randy Jumper will speak.
Although the evening is a celebration of the community and its achievements, Smith said it has developed into a much-needed fundraiser for the Chamber. There will be a silent auction, which will include a number of choice bidding items, as well as a "Grand Raffle," featuring an all-expense paid trip for two to New York City. Tickets for the Grand Raffle will be $5 each, or five tickets for $20.
"This year we've put a lot more emphasis on helping people have a good time, and we're hoping our Grand Raffle will give everyone a chance to get in and win something," Smith said. "We're anticipating a really good evening. A lot of people have worked very hard to make this evening happen and we think it'll be nice."
The banquet is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on March 10, at the Briggs/Sebaugh Wellness Center on the campus of Arkansas Northeastern College. Tickets are $45, and can be purchased from any Chamber board member or at the Chamber office. Bidding for the silent auction will begin at 6 p.m. when the doors open.
cpinkard@blythevillecourier.com