This past Saturday the Missouri Valley Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards banquet, and you can see my photos of the award winners in this paper.
A topic of discussion at the Missouri Valley Times-News table was that, although this was a Chamber event, the people in attendance weren't just buttoned-up business owners.
When folks from the community are winning awards then some folks outside of the business community will definitely attend to support, but that isn't the main thing I'm getting at.
In other cities I've been around or lived in in my life, the Chamber was really all about the business community. There's nothing wrong with that, but it is noticeably different. Chamber events are for the businesses, awards are strictly based on business, and the makeup of the crowd at an event like the one on Saturday would be, well, strictly business.
Even at big community events, the Chamber is usually supplemental support that operates in the background.
In Missouri Valley, though, the Chamber sponsors huge events like the Mo Valley Rally and even smaller events throughout the year that, while they do benefit the Chamber and its member businesses, also greatly benefit the community.
On a night like Saturday, it was obvious that the community returns that support in kind.
It was great to see and chat with some folks who were just there to show support, both for the award winners and for the Chamber in general. Plenty of the folks in attendance do not own or run a business, but they do have a large stake in the success of those businesses.
As I told one of my coworkers, “When a lot of the businesses are on Main Street, people understand the need to support those businesses.”
That is one of the benefits of being in a smaller community. One might wish that things were more spread out, or bigger and grander. But when there is a central hub of commerce and a smaller town full of citizens who notice EVERYTHING that goes on, that's how you end up with a true community.
A true community shows up and supports its local businesses and attends banquets that recognize the Chamber's work. A true community transforms something that could simply be seen as a “Chamber event” into a community event. Chamber Director Jeannie Wortman is also to thank for that, as she has done a great job of including the community in things Chamber related.
For a newspaperman who just wants to see people get along and not have to write any depressing stories, it warms my heart to see events like the one held on Saturday.
Congratulations to all of the winners who were honored this past weekend, and you're welcome for not choosing the photos where you blinked.
