News & Events
Chamber Celebrates 29 Years of Excellence
Annual dinner brings business, civic, and community leaders together for gala
Review the 2007 Award Winners
The Laurens County Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Meeting & Awards Dinner January 18 at the Mabry-Smith-Yonce Center on the campus of Presbyterian College, celebrating twenty-nine years of service to the county. A record attendance of more than 360 members attended the gala event.
Presbyterian College President and First Lady, Dr. John and Nancy Griffith, opened their home for the reception prior to the dinner. The evening was made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsors Laurens Electric Cooperative and Piedmont Rural Telephone Cooperative.
The meeting opened with the National Anthem by the Presbyterian College Chorus under the direction of Dr. Porter Stokes. The chorus also offered several other moving selections following a series of toasts given by members of the Chamber board.
The highlight of the evening was the unveiling of a new ten minute promotional video for Laurens County presented by Chamber President and CEO Rob Clapper who was presiding over his first annual dinner. The new video will play in the Chamber lobby on a flat screen television secured by a grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation. It will also be available soon on the Chamber’s newly revamped web site.
Dixie Prickett of AstenJohnson, Inc. of Clinton passed the Chairman’s gavel to Dr. Bud Marchant of Piedmont Technical College at the conclusion of the evening. Jim Firmin of Firmin Ford in Laurens is the 2007 Board of Directors Chairman-elect. He will preside over the Chamber’s 30th anniversary year and many other community enhancing events in 2008. The new Board of Directors was also installed during the meeting.
The dinner and awards presentation were touted as a new beginning for the Chamber of Commerce under the leadership of a new president and CEO. "Working in partnership with City, County, state and federal elected and appointed officials; our educational and workforce development stakeholders; and our community business leaders, we have established a firm foundation for Laurens County’s future growth," Clapper concluded as he challenged the membership to raise the bar of expectations.
