photo by Dale Liesch

Gov. Bob Riley greets Carolyn Strother after his visit to Alexander City Friday for the chamber’s annual luncheon. Riley was the keynote speaker at the event.

Happy birthday business

Riley visits Alexander City to commemorate Chamber of Commerce's 100 years of service

By Natalie Nettles (Contact) | Alex City Outlook

Published Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Alexander City Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 100th year of service at its annual meeting Friday.

Gov. Bob Riley served as keynote speaker of the event and the chamber introduced its new board of directors and officers for the upcoming year.

Susan Foy, 2010 chairman of the chamber, said she was thrilled to have the governor attend the meeting.

“We have a long-standing history with him since he was our congressman for this area, so it made it extra special that he’s here,” Foy said. “We consider him one of ours and we are so glad we could have him come celebrate this 100th year with us.”

During his speech, Riley asked the Legislature to oppose the “Sweet Home Alabama” bill and support charter schools.

The governor, who talked about viewing Alexander City as a metropolitan area while growing up in nearby Clay County, also urged the legislature to preserve the cleanliness of Lake Martin.

“People say there’s no place like home, and that’s probably true, unless it’s Lake Martin,” Riley said. “Sometimes I think it’s just a little bit better than home.”

In addition to introducing its new board of directors and officers, the chamber also recognized its retiring board members and presented six members of the community with awards at the meeting.

The awards were presented as follows: Beth Dewberry, Teacher of the Year; Bree Walton, Chamber Ambassador of the Year; Sheronda Cross, Police Officer of the Year; David Contrell, Firefighter of the Year; Diane Lemmond, Community Spirit Award; and Business Person of the Year, Jay Hare.

Foy said she is excited to be named chairman of such a long-standing program in the community.

“Benjamin Russell founded the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce in 1910, as well as the Alabama Chamber of Commerce in 1918, so we have a very long history as a chamber statewide,” Foy said. “We were accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the ‘70s.”

Foy said the chamber has about 500 members.

“We’re very proud of our membership,” Foy said.

Congressional Staffer Cheryl Cunningham read a statement on behalf of Third Congressional District representative Mike Rogers during the meeting in which he honored and paid recognition to the chamber for their past 100 years of service.

Jim Burns, 2009 chamber chairman, passed the chairman’s gavel to Foy at the end of the meeting.

“All we want to see now is you lead us into the next 100 years,” Burns said.

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