Chamber dinner, annual business awards to be separate events

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The annual FSACC dinner and the annual awards and recognition ceremony for area businesses will be divided into two separate events this year, chamber officials said.

"We have separated the awards and recognition part of the event and made it a separate event that will be held later in the year," FSACC Chairman Bob Marshall said. "That will help keep the event timely and more comfortable for guests."

The dinner will take place on Feb. 20 at Fort Scott Community College, while an official awards ceremony -- which honors local businesses for their efforts within the community -- will most likely take place sometime in the summer, chamber member John Hill said.

Hill is one of three chamber members who are instrumental in the planning and organization of the annual dinner, officials said.

Hill said organizers wanted to combine the two aspects of the annual event again this year, but time constraints have prompted officials to hold the awards ceremony at a later date. Organizers chose to bring in featured guest speaker and former University of Kansas track star Wes Santee to speak at the dinner, rather than try to conduct both events in one evening, Hill said.

"We had no time to do the nominations if we wanted (Wes) Santee as a speaker, because it's the last week he could speak," he said.

Other than the awards ceremony, the event typically features a variety of music, food and drink, and plenty of socializing and camaraderie between members of the local business community. With the time it takes to plan and conduct such a time-consuming event, officials wanted to be able to fit in Santee's speech with the rest of the planned activities, officials said.

Reservations for the dinner can be made by calling the chamber at (620) 223-3566.