September 21, 2006
If you were able to attend the August membership meeting of the Keene Chamber of Commerce, you are well educated on education in Keene. We heard the “state of the school” address from Dr. Eric Anderson (President of Southwestern Adventist University), Kevin Sellers (Superintendent of KISD), all of the principals for KISD (Sandy Denning, high school; Billie Hopps, middle school; JoAnne Bittiker, elementary; and Stan Rhone, alternative campus), Ben Jones (Vice Principal of Chisholm Trail Academy), Donna Berkner (Principal of Keene Adventist Elementary) and Nikki Wilmoth (Public Relations and Marketing for Hill College). It was contagious to see the excitement in the faces and words of the educators as they anticipate the new academic year. David Patterson also commented on the findings of the KISD Facilities Committee. The students of the City of Keene are definitely in a great place to learn.
The sponsor for the August meeting was Sagentic Web Design. They will defer to the September meeting for their promotional five minutes due to a conflict with the United Way Kickoff. We will have David Kercheval of Worth Casualty Co., one of our newest members, sponsor the September meeting.
Since no petitions were received, the nominating committee’s nominees of Sharan Boelter of Custom Insurance (to a second 3-year term), Paul Gnadt of The Keene Star and Phil Robertson, an associate pastor at Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church will round out our Board of Directors. These new members will help the existing board (Gwen Beeson, Jason Fautheree, Janet Goodman, Donny Gore, Jere Putnam, Chris Tharp, Justin Woods, Randy Yates) plan for the upcoming 13th Annual Chamber Banquet to be held Thursday, October 26th, at 6:30 at the Southwestern Adventist Univeristy Cafeteria. Invitations will be going out soon to chamber members, but the banquet is open to the public.
Our speaker will be Dr. Alan Saxe, Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas in Arlington. He was our membership-meeting speaker back in January. Perhaps you remember how entertaining he was. He had us all in stitches. We are very fortunate to have him returning to once again amuse us with his stories and challenge us with his wisdom. You can count on a banquet that ends at 8:30 sharp this year because we have to have the professor back in Arlington to get up bright and early to teach the next morning.
We do need your help in nominating the various ones who will be honored at the banquet. Please give us your input either by mail, e-mail (available through the Chamber website at www.keenechamber.org) or in person to any board member—old or new. We will honor a Citizen of the Year, Pioneer and Educator of the Year (public and private sectors), and give the Community Service Award and Community Improvement Award. We would also like to honor one of the younger members of our community who has given of himself to others to make our community a better place to live. If you have any input on whom we might honor at this year’s banquet, please pass your reasons along to us for consideration.
The work on the directory is almost complete. Sagentic Web Design is putting together the listing of the members, advertisements and community information for an up-to-date resource for those in the community and for those considering re-locating here. The new directory will make its debut at the banquet and will have a life of two years. We appreciate the efforts of the board in making sure the directory represents an accurate and complete picture of our Chamber and our community. A special thanks to Donny Gore for heading up this project.
The September 28th membership meeting will be catered by Leach Bros. Pit BarBQ. A vegetarian alternative will be served. Dessert will be presented by Crowley’s Bakery, another one of our new members. I hope you have been able to sample the wonderful cookies and sticky buns they have. Nancy Holt will present a sample Toastmasters meeting that will give us an idea of ways we can improve our communication skills by joining a group dedicated to that purpose. It is a fun way to network while fine-tuning oral abilities important to everyday business activities. Toastmasters would love to start a group right here in Keene. Come and see how you can be involved.
Remember to RSVP to the chamber office, 817-556-2995, by Friday, September 22nd, to receive the $7 price. If your plans change and you are able to attend at the last minute, please join us. The $10 unreserved price will give you a great meal and meeting. See you on Thursday, September 28th, at noon at the Keene Senior Citizens Center!
Janet Goodman
President, Keene Chamber of Commerce