July 17, 2009

Last night Deborah and I attended the Municipal Association dinner at the Municipal Building in Prichard. Dr. Mark Foley from the University Of Mobile gave a stirring talk about finding your "thin place", which is a triggered thought or location where you feel closest to God and can let Him assist you in seeking the right answers. The catering was by Rogers BarBQue and everyone
enjoyed themselves greatly. Today I spoke with the grant writer about our strategic planning meeting in August and with our Code Inspector about an interested person considering opening a upscale Bed & Breakfast. Since Deborah had to work late tonight, I patronized our new restaurant on Lee St.

July 16, 2009

The Chamber Of Commerce luncheon was sponsored by Chickasaw Kiwanis Club and catered by "Market By The Bay" Our guest speaker was Carnes Craig, who enlightened us about the origin, purpose and goals of the organization. He reminded us that the Kiwanis motto is: "Children First, Priority One"
Since our Citizen Of The Year, Mrs. Barbara Pulliam had to relinquish her plaque in June for engraving, we were able to re-present her with the genuine finished product today. She says she has gotten many letters of congratulations and is enjoying her status as "special person" in the city. The Chamber recognized a guest, Donna Witherspoon, co-owner of our new restaurant,
Mama Lewis Diner located at 119 West Lee St. and door prizes were given out at the end of the event. In our board meeting prior to the lunch we voted on a $100. check for the East Village Restoration Society. A motion passed to secure business sponsors to donate school supplies for our three schools. Some of the school budgets have been cut back so far that there will not be enough crayons, pencils and paper to go around. Please call me or Cecilia Ann with supplies or money for them if you can help.

July 15, 2009

Today was spent ordering equipment for several clients and working on the agenda for tomorrows Chamber Of Commerce meeting. I had the opportunity to communicate with one of our councilpersons about the Business License Ordinance and offer two or three opinions concerning its wording. I also spoke with our new restaurant owner who was worried about not having received her business license as of yet. I gave her our code inspectors cell number, who
told her not to worry; it was on its way. Our grant writer/consultant sent me pictures of the July 4th event to forward on to the Tri-City Review and our IT specialist added pictures to the Chamber Of Commerce website at www.chickasawchamber.com .

July 14, 2009

I attended the Planning Board meeting this morning where we discussed minimum size homes for new buildings in Zones R-1 and R-2. Also an ordinance for concrete or brick driveways and sidewalks for new homes was assigned to a committee. Afterward, I had lunch at Mama Lewis Diner with a friend. Tonight at council meeting, I nominated Nell Barnes to the city's Commercial Development Board and she was approved and voted onto the board. Safety Director Mike Reynolds was accepted as Police Chief and lauded for his fine job of handling the crowds at the July 4th event.

A plea was made by Tom Ray for additional control of juveniles at the East Village.

July 13, 2009

Mama Lewis Diner on West Lee Street is officially in business. At approximately 10:08 AM the Mayor of Chickasaw, Byron Pittman, cut the ribbon welcoming the restaurant into the community. After the ceremony, I presented, on behalf of the Chamber Of Commerce a welcoming gift to the ladies and invited them to join our Chamber as a new business. We have
already sampled their food from last weeks special lunch and expect they will do very well.

This afternoon at Kiwanis we voted in a new member, Ceclia Ann Dailey to our ranks. Cecilia Ann currently holds posts on the Library Board and is Executive Secretary of the Chamber Of Commerce. Our speaker today was Consultant Sherrie Graham who spoke on leaving the legacy of our good work along with a broad smile. Tonight the Historic Boeard meets at 6:30 PM.

This morning early, eight of us from St. Thomas Catholic Church drove up to Prattville, AL. to attend a statewide Knights of Columbus and Ladies Auxiliary meeting. Deborah and I grabbed lunch at the luxurious Legends Hotel and Country Club where the meeting was held. Meetings and workshops were held from noon until 5:00 PM All of us enjoyed good fellowship and a learning experience.

July 11, 2009

Last evening two of our Atlanta friends, Ben and Honey Vandekreke drove down from Atlanta on their way to a small New Orleans wedding (350 guests) and stopped over to spend the night
with us. We cooked out and talked into the wee hours about the business (they are large audio and video distributors) and about Founders Day here which equates to "Tucker Days" in NE Atlanta. Honey is the chairperson of that event, so I picked up some good ideas from her. This morning we all went to "Spot Of Tea" for breakfast and caught some of the high-spots of the city such as The Battle House, Cathedral Square, GM&O an Austal Shipbuilding before they had to head out for New Orleans. Deborah was with us, but taking the pictures.