Easley Chamber of Commerce

58th Annual Chamber Gala

The Easley Chamber of Commerce held its 58th Annual Gala Friday evening January 27, 2006 at the Westin Poinsett in Greenville. The much anticipated event was well attended in the elegant Gold Ballroom of the hotel, where the dinner/dance and award ceremony were held.

VIEW PHOTOS>>>

Speakers for the evening included George Acker, District Manager of Duke Power, sponsoring the Duke Citizenship and Service Award; Kent Dykes, Executive Director Easley Chamber of Commerce; David Mitchell, of Edward Jones & Co; and Dr. John Adams, of First Baptist Church of Easley, who gave the opening invocation.

Carol Walsh, owner of Walsh Realty, was inducted as the new president of the board of directors of the Easley Chamber of Commerce for 2006. “Passing the Gavel” to Carol Walsh was last year’s president of the board, David Mitchell, of Edward Jones & Co.

Recognized as the six board of directors rotating off the board were Tommy Keef, Welco Staffing; Marguerite Keenan, Captain Kimberly Hampton Memorial Library; Barry Legan, Easley Comfort Inn; Susan Linsley, Endless Ideas; David Houck, Carolina First; and Jon Humphrey, Sulzer Process Pumps. For a complete list of the 2006 Easley Chamber’s board of directors visit www.easleychamber.org .

The following annual awards were presented:
· Ambassador of the Year, Michael Dent, Allstate Insurance
· Volunteer of the Year, Mary Kay, Consultant
· Director of the Year, Robyn Moore, Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority
· Business of the Year, Michael’s Pizzeria, Michael Hedrick owner
· Duke Citizenship and Service Award, presented to Judy Burns

Pictured- David Mitchell, president of the board 2005, passed the gavel to Carol Walsh, president of the board for 2006

Ambassador of the Year
Mr. Michael Dent: the Easley Chamber of Commerce’s Ambassador of the Year 2005.

We have 15 active ambassadors in the Chamber of Commerce lead by Mrs. Iva Jane Sisler. They meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month in the chamber boardroom.

An Ambassador’s mission is to represent the Easley Chamber of Commerce at business functions and to individual companies and communicate any feedback to the Chamber from membership. This also allows an opportunity to enhance their business relations.

At the monthly meeting the ambassador’s are given assignment to contact chamber member businesses. They report on the previous month’s contacts and tell me any issues that need to be addressed about the chamber.

There is a checklist and point system, which measures the ambassador’s contacts through the year.

In addition to having the most contacts in 2005 this ambassador has also been a tireless volunteer in other areas. He was the chairman of our very successful Fall Golf Outing at the Pickens County Country Club in October 2005 and will again be our chairman for the May 9, 2006 Golf Event at Smithfield CC.

The Ambassador group will miss him in 2006 as he has been elected to the board of directors to serve a 3 year term.

Pictured- Ambassador of the Year Award was presented to Michael Dent, Allstate Insurance, by Kent Dykes

Volunteer of the Year, Mary Kay, Consultant

Pictured- Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Mary Kay

Director of the Year, Robyn Moore, Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority

Pictured- David Mitchell presented the Director of the Year Award to Robyn Moore, Marketing Representative for Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority

2005 Business of the Year, Michael’s Pizzeria, Michael Hedrick owner

The business of the year is selected from one of the 12 businesses of the month for 2005. The criterion for business of the month is on our website. We encourage member businesses to nominate a business based on the criterion. The business of the year is selected by secret ballot by the board of directors of the Easley Chamber of Commerce.

The business of the year for 2005 had its 2nd annual Christmas party for Miracle Hill Ministries and hosted 30 kids from 3 –18 years of age. They first learned of Miracle Hill in 2004 and found that the kids at the home were not going to have a Christmas. This was unacceptable. This business decided they would give the children a good Christmas and took it on themselves to gather the funds and the presents from fellow Easley businesses and adopt the home for Christmas.

With help from 29 local businesses they received $1700 in gifts for the kids. They also asked for donations from larger businesses (like Peoples, CommunitySouth, McKinney Dodge). They had donations of $7000, which was given to Miracle Hill for their cottages.

On Christmas Eve the Pizzeria closed at 4:00 PM when the kids showed up. The feed them appetizers then everyone ordered their entree of choice. Afterward the kids dug into their gifts. This was their Christmas and all enjoyed the spirit of the season.

This would not have been possible if it were not for our Business of the Year 2005: Michael’s Pizzeria.

Pictured- Kent Dykes presented the Business of the Year Award to Michael & Susan Hedrick, owners of Michael’s Pizzeria

Duke Citizenship and Service Award, presented to Judy Burns
Judy Burns is the visionary for Easley and for the Chamber of Commerce.

Judy has been the Executive Directory for the Easley Chamber of Commerce on two occasions. The first time was in the early 1990s for about 4 years. She left after that time for two years to be with Jim as he started at textile department at a university in Pakistan.

In 2001 she was again asked to come back to the Chamber of Commerce as the executive director. The chamber needed help and she was the right person at the right time. She had a set of goals for the chamber and the community and she met her personal goals:

1. She put the chamber on firm financial ground and kept it that way through tight controls in the office and aggressive recruitment of new members.
2. It was her vision for the city to start the SHINE (Serving the Hungry in Nearby Easley) program.
We had nothing like this before in our community and it was needed. Her persistence prevailed and SHINE was started under the umbrella of the Chamber of Commerce. It is now a mature non-profit charitable organization with its own board of directors and serves daily dinners for the hungry in the community.
3. In July 2001 Judy set the goal for the chamber to have its own home. She said, “the chamber had moved from place to place ever since 1947.” “The chamber needs a permanent place that was both visible and viable.” “A place that visitors can come and learn about what a wonderful community we have.” This was achieved with the purchase of the chamber of commerce and visitor’s center at 2001 E. Main Street. This is a great location and will serve the community for many years to come thanks to her vision and persistence.

Judy retired in October having achieved all the goals she set back in July 2001. She is spending more time with Jim, her husband of 43 years and her 4 grandchildren – Morgan, Hunter, J.R. and Reagan. She has not relaxed however as she is still on city and county committees as well as the SHINE board.

She will be starting a new chapter in her life with a friend. She will be co-owner of an interior design business called Redesigning Women.

Pictured- Nell Smith (in center) and George Acker presented Duke Citizenship and Service Award to Judy Burns (on left)