Easley Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Easley Chamber Of Commerce, 61st Annual Banquet at SWU

View 2009 Banquet Photos>>>

From left are Pam Jeter, Easley Chamber Ambassador’s Chairman, presenting Ambassador of the Year award to Tiffany Martin

From left are Kent Dykes (President of the Chamber), presenting representatives of Palmetto Health Baptist Easley, Susan Shugart, Robert Dye and Mark Eisengrein, with the 2008 Business of the Year award.

Emily DeRoberts (Duke Energy) and former Mayor Chris Christopherson presented Duke Citizenship and Service Award to Jack Ragsdale in the center

On the right Jeff Willis, Chairman of the board 2008, passed the gavel to Eric Goodwin, Chairman of the board for 2009

The Greater Easley Chamber of Commerce 61st annual banquet was held at Southern Wesleyan University on February 6. An evening at the Mardi Gras was the theme.

At this event, Tiffany Martin was presented the award as the Ambassador of the Year for 2008 by Pam Jeter, the chairperson of the Easley Chamber Ambassadors. The Ambassador’s stay in contact with other chamber members, aid in ribbon cuttings, Business of the month, chamber luncheons, and special events. Tiffany excelled in 2008 by achieving the most contacts and participated in the most events. Tiffany Martin is the Senior Wellness Director of the Pickens County YMCA.

Recognized also were the five board members rotating off the board after three (3) years of service. They were Carl Crane, Gregg Powell (City of Easley), Saundra Hunter, Blake Pittman (Applebee’s) and Michael Dent (Allstate).

Palmetto Health Baptist Easley received the recognition as Business of the Year. The Chamber board of directors selected the hospital from among the twelve (12) businesses of the month for 2008. The hospital was recognized in 2008 as achieving excellent performance in developing and implementing a quality management system based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The award was the Silver Achiever in the South Carolina Governor’s Quality Award. Also, the national trade magazine Modern Healthcare announced its list of the 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare in the U.S and Palmetto Health was selected in this group. It was the only organization in South Carolina to achieve this ranking.

The Duke Citizenship & Service Award was presented by Emily DeRoberts (Duke Energy) and former Easley Mayor Chris Christopherson. Jack Ragsdale was the recipient of this year’s award for his outstanding long-term involvement in community service. Mr. Ragsdale was the first president of the newly chartered Easley Chamber of Commerce in 1947.

Eric Goodwin, Durham-Greene, was inducted as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Easley Chamber of Commerce for 2009. “Passing the Gavel” to Eric Goodwin was last year’s Chairman of the Board, Jeff Willis, of One Tree Hill.

The Chamber gratefully acknowledges the presenting sponsors for this year’s banquet.
City of Easley
Alice Manufacturing
Duke Energy
SunTrust Bank
CPM Federal Credit Union
Easley Dental Associates
SC Telco Credit Union
Sulzer Pumps
Youngblood Development
Benefit Sources Incorporated
Sharp Business Solutions