ELIZABETHTOWN — The directors of the Elizabethtown-White Lake Area Chamber of Commerce have announced the 2018 recipients of four major awards that will be presented during the Chamber’s annual membership banquet in June.
“The recipients of the awards must be Chamber members — other than the Caring Person Award, which is given to someone in the community that we have noticed is doing an outstanding job, usually by volunteering their time,” said Dawn Maynard, executive director of the Chamber. “They often have no idea anyone even noticed their efforts.”
Chamber directors chose Chris Clark, who is a member of the Board of Education, to receive the Caring Person of the Year award.
Selected for the Honorary Lifetime Chamber Member award was William Findt, president of Bladen Community College, who is retiring this year after several years at the Dublin campus.
The award “is usually given to someone who has dedicated much time to the Chamber and served the community well,” Maynard said.
The Small Business Person of the Year will be Regal Resort & The Venue of White Lake; the Chamber Member of the Year will be the town of Elizabethtown.
These two awards “fall much the same by being members that are active with the Chamber, contributing their time to the Chamber, serving the community, and volunteering,” said Maynard. “For example, the town of Elizabethtown makes an annual contribution to the Chamber to assist with the operational expenses and events in the community. In addition, the town provides me with manpower at no expense to the Chamber to help carry out the events in Elizabethtown.
“I could not put on the concerts or parade without the assistance received from the town employees,” she added. “The board and I both felt the town of Elizabethtown should be recognized for their ongoing support to the Chamber.
The Chamber’s membership banquet will be held Tuesday, June 19, at Lu Mil Vineyard in Dublin. The guest speaker will be Kenny Flowers, assistant secretary of Rural Economic Development for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber members will be mailed an invitation to attend the banquet next month, however, the banquet is open to anyone who would like to attend — just call the Chamber for a reservation no later than June 8. To reserve a table, contact Maynard at 910-862-4368 or by email at tourism28337@embarqmail.com.