Coming up February 23rd, the Chamber will have its 90th installment of our annual banquet and awards dinner. The last two years, and years before that, we have had it on campus at UACCB in Independence Hall. While I will spend some time later telling you more about the awards we will give out, I want to spend some time talking about why this is significant, at least in my opinion. When you put in perspective the Chamber has been around for ninety-years, that is a pretty amazing feat. It shows the level of importance the employers of our area have put in our existence. I think it also shows how involved our Chamber has been in the development of our community over the last ninety-years.
As the list could go on for a while of the accomplishments, and those of our Board and previous Chairman have made, I think it is more important to discuss how we have worked with people all across our county, state, and national governments during that time. Recently, we found a treasure trove of pictures in a back cabinet and they are a treasure indeed. We have pictures of business, people, leaders, grand openings, tours, parties, and so much more that give us a glimpse into a time when our area was really growing and on the cusp of improvements and technology. We have pictures of Governors, United States Senators, United States Representatives, one United States President before he was President, and so much more. But that is not what I want to relish in. I want to relish in the fact that they were all here. They were working with leaders in our community. They looked at our area as a center of influence, of importance, and of significance. While those pictures show us that some forty plus years ago and older our prominence, I believe that we retain much of that today. With all the new sessions and elected officials taking office this time of year, I am reminded of what the past ninety-years has been like for our area. I can look back over those pictures, talk with older folks in our area, and know that we were the center of so much. But, as with time, there are so many things that pose challenges to that progress. Change is always going on and with it a constant reminder of what needs to be done. As we embark on our 90th installment of our banquet, we also begin another year here at the Chamber. At our banquet we will be sharing with our membership the vision we see for 2009 and going forward. We can look back over time and see what was accomplished and how. Bringing back some of those ideas and relationships, I believe, will begin a renaissance in our community that will usher back in to our community that same place of prominence that we enjoyed for so many years. As a Chamber, we want the “outside” community to know that we are on the move, that we are taking steps to take care of ourselves, and that while we are doing those things, we want them to be on board with us, not the other way around. We want the leaders outside of our area to know how they can help us, and how they can fit in to our team for the next phase of growth that we are going to experience.
Do not get me wrong. I am not being arrogant or condescending in my approach. But I am looking at this with confidence because we are entirely capable of doing all these things. We are capable because the people of our community are capable and deserve this from their leadership. I believe the positions of leadership in our community must be met with humility because of the responsibilities we face, decisions we make, and the future we are molding. It is an awesome responsibility that must be met with seriousness. But for those of us in those positions we take our jobs very seriously, with great passion, and a mentality of thinking first and acting second. We do it because of our community and what we believe is owed to its citizens. So when you look back over time, and as you look forward to our future, I hope you will share with me the same confidence that we are rebuilding our team and forging ahead for some of the greatest people in all of Arkansas.
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