Dinner with Friends

The Chamber Annual Dinner meetinng was last night. The event is open to the community and the meal is free. Patti's donates the meat and Chamber members bring the sides. You don't need a special ticket, or have to go through security checks, or plan what designer you will wear.

We had over 80 people attend. This may not sound like a big crowd, but it is over 20 percent of our population. Think about sitting down to dinner with over 20 percent of your town. And think about knowing everyone in the room.

The VIPs attending our Inaugural event included Representative Mike Cherry and County Judge Executive Chris Lasher. They are both wonderful supporters of Grand Rivers and we appreciate everything they do for us.

Mike brought a letter from the Governor congratulating us on our Southern Living Awards.

Thank you to Patti's, Green Turtle Bay, Lake Realty and Livingston County Coperative Extension - and to the many individuals who brought dishes.

Congratulations to the 2009 Chamber Board and Officers

President: Mary Ann O'Leary

Vice President: Dennice Lindsay

Secretary: Pat Gorbett

Treasure: Bill Cullen

2009 Board of Directors -

Brenda Lady

Mike Tullar

Jim Doom

Pat Jones

Congratulations to the 2008 Chamber Award Winners -

Volunteer of the Year: Dianne Bingham

Member of the Year: Bill and Sara Minihan and Variety!

Presidents Award: Hazel Demry

Mayor Tom spoke and shared with us his thoughts on the strengths of our community - service to friends, service to community. It really does happen here and it really does work.

Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

This morning it is cold and icy in town. A few cars are out but they are moving slow. I’m moving slow too. I’m nursing a cold and have been for a couple of days, so I’ll keep this weekend review short and sweet and then go home and nap.
Saturday was Miss Linda’s annual Community Christmas breakfast and neither my cold nor the 8:00 am start time could keep me away. Linda embodies everything I love about Grand Rivers. She is outgoing and warm hearted. She was one of the first to welcome me to Grand Rivers when I moved here. She is also high spirited and full of pluck. I love her jokes. Visit her at Canoe Antiques, and you will love her too. At breakfast we said farewell to Marie, another long time resident of Grand Rivers. She will be moving soon to be closer to her children and she will be missed.
Sunday was the Chamber Holiday Open House. The hand bell choir from the Grand Rivers First Baptist Church performed magical Christmas harmonies on the bells.

My personal highlight of the weekend was a surprise gift from a friend. Now, I’m not much on receiving gifts. I’m hard to buy for because I don’t think there is anything I need and most of the time I would rather people just save their money. I’m not much on surprises either, but I LOVED LOVED this particular surprise gift. So may I close in saying, Thank you, thank you Susan for the frog pajamas. Neither my mom nor my husband will be able to outdo this gift…maybe even for years to come.

Meet the Pats

In this tiny community of 350 people, you will find special events and activities all throughout the year. The amazing thing is that most of our events are organized and manned with volunteers. We have a lot of great volunteers in Grand Rivers and topping the list are “the Pats”. The Pats enjoy working together and they make a great team. And, if it is happening in Grand Rivers, chances are the Pats are helping out. Here are the highlights of their 2008 contributions:

In February the Pats organized two events for National Heart Health Month and raised $880 for the American Heart Association. In March they Co-chaired the Chamber hospitality area for the Grand Rivers Ultra Run providing hot food and nutritious snacks for over 300 runners. In April they Co-Chaired the Grand Rivers Quilt Show. In May they organized a fashion show and raised over $500 for the Grand Rivers Chamber Scholarship Fund. In June the Pats volunteered for the Grand Rivers Free Kids Fishing Event. In August they volunteered for the National Marina Day festivities. In September they worked with Kentucky’s Western Waterlands on the Arts and Crafts festival and they raised over $1,400 for the Grand Rivers Chamber in concession sales. In October they Co-Chaired the Hunters Moon Committee, organized the Chamber Silent Auction fundraiser, and organized a breakfast for National Breast cancer awareness month that raised $900 for the American Cancer Society.

Hunters Moon Festival is all wrapped up and now we are getting ready for the Festival of Lights. The Pats (and other volunteers) are going to meet me downtown on the next two Saturdays and help with Christmas decorations. The Pats are also busy working on a 2009 Men of Grand Rivers Calendar to raise funds for the Chamber. You may also see them in November and December at the Badgett Playhouse where they volunteer as ushers.

And then in January, they will start over again. Thank goodness for volunteers and thank God for the Pats.