2018 Annual Chamber Banquet Highlights

The Carroll Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet was held on Monday, February 12, 2018 at the Carrollton Centre in Carroll, Iowa. The banquet is a celebration of 2017 which included a review of the past year from 2017 president, Jill Schweers.  Past president Schweers also introduced the Chamber Board of Directors, and recognized outgoing board members:  Matt Danner, Peg Sanders and Brandon Snyder, and thanked them for their time and commitment to the Chamber Board. 
 
The 2018 Chamber President Steve Blackburn, introduced and welcomed new chamber board members and shared his vision for 2018.  President Blackburn’s focus for 2018 will be to support local businesses by promoting the #ChooseCarroll campaign. 
 
Chamber Executive Director, Shannon Landauer talked about “community” and what the word means to people.  She said “Although all of the answers would be different, the truth and simple commonality is that every single definition of community is brought forward with emotion. Community is not a physical area or just a common group of people, but it is a feeling. Creating that feeling of community is a big part of the #ChooseCarroll campaign that the Chamber has been working on over the last year.”
 
Jim Auen, President of Carroll Area Development Corporation said “The new buzz words in
economic development are quality of place.  A community’s attractiveness to existing and future resident and workers is a competitive advantage.  People want economic opportunity together with a great location to live their lives. Quality of place has to be part of our plans for economic growth in Carroll and Carroll County.”
 
The highlight of the banquet was the presentation of awards which recognized individuals and businesses for their extraordinary commitment to Carroll and Carroll County.
 
The award winners were:
Citizen of the Year – Marty Steffes
Public Service – Carroll Athletic Association
Humanitarian – Kristen Lundstrom, (Carroll Summer Fun Camp)
Good Neighbor – Charlie Nixon, Coon Rapids
Young Professional of the Year – Austin Scott
New Business Award – Promesing Image Salon & Spa
Heritage Business Award – Roman Steffes & Sons Construction