Last Thursday night the Eastland Chamber of Commerce hosted their
annual Golden Deed Award Banquet. The, oh-my-gosh-good
dinner was provided by Hardin’s BBQ. It was hard to keep from
tapping your feet while dining as the Eastland High School Jazz Band
provided the dining entertainment.
EHS Jazz Band
The theme was designed around the Visionaries in Preservation program
and sitting on each table were pictures of Eastland’s landscapes and
buildings of it’s past, provided by the Eastland Historical Committee.
Placemats told the story of how some of Eastland’s street names came to
be. Miniature signs and greenery, provided by Hardwick’s Nursery,
were used as centerpieces on white tablecloths, giving the large room a
cozy and welcome feel to it.
Texas Slim
Clint Coffee, incoming president of the Chamber, gave the opening
welcome and presented the awards. Clint introduced
Eastland’s favorite celebrity, Texas Slim, who, with his usual antics
and quips, MC’d the evening.
Incoming and Outgoing Presidents, Clint Coffee & Sharon Siebert
Matt Synatschk, representative of the
Visionaries in Preservation Program, showed a video explaining the
value of this program in which Eastland was recently selected to
participate.
Sharon Siebert was presented the Past President’s Award for her
service as Eastland Chamber President of 2009.
Lindsay Riffle being presented the 9th Grade Outstanding Student
Award by Clint Coffee
Winners for the Outstanding Students Awards:
Lindsay Riffle – 9th Grade. Lindsay is the daughter of Mitch
and Kay Riffle. She is ranked third in her class, she is the
freshman class secretary and is a Junior Varsity Cheerleader. She
participates in the Allegiance Cheer Company’s competitive squad.
Lindsay is a member of the First Baptist Church. She walked to
raise money and awareness for Epilepsy and the M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center. She plans to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner or an
actress.
Tiffani Peeples being presented with the 10th Grade Outstanding
Student Award by Clint Coffee
Tiffani Peeples – 10th Grade. Tiffani is the daughter of Kerri
Peeples and the late Terry Peeples. She ranks third in her
class and is a member of the Key Club, Art Club, the Drama Club and Beta
Club. She has been in the UIL One Act Play for two years and was
an Honorable Mention All District last year. Tiffani
volunteers with Autism Speaks and has participated in the West Texas
Autism walks for the last three years. She is a member of the Leon
River Cowboy Church. She provided hospice care for her dad in his
final months of his battle with cancer last year.
Susan Coffee being presented the 11th Grade Outstanding Student
Award by Clint Coffee
Susan Coffee – 11th Grade. Susan is the daughter of Clint and
Jenny Coffee. She is ranked first in her class and is involved in
varsity cheer leading, student council, the Beta Club, UIL Theatrical
Design Team, and UIL Poetry. She was voted as class favorite
by her class, has been selected to attend the John Ben Shepperd
Leadership Institute, and has been selected to represent the Eastland
Rotary Club at the RYLA Leadership Camp this summer. Susan
volunteers with Autism Speaks making crafts and jewelry that are sold to
make money for the organization. Susan has been a World Changers
Missionary for the last two summers in Los Angeles and New Orleans.
She plans to graduate from Cisco College with her associates degree
before she graduates from high school. She will attend Baylor or
TCU and plans to become an orthodontist.
Stetson Wheat receiving the 12th Grade Outstanding Student Award
from Clint Coffee
Stetson Wheat – 12th Grade. Stetson is the son of Gary and Lois
Wheat. He is ranked first in his class and participates in Varsity
Football and Tennis. He is a member of the Beta Club and is active
in the Carbon Community Baptist Church. Stetson has worked for
Buck Wheat Resources since he was in 5th grade. He has volunteered
to help in improving the home conditions for elderly and disabled
citizens of Lueders, TX. He is a passionate hunter and fisherman
and plans to attend Texas A&M.
The Volunteer of the Year Award went to C&H Monograms/Polkadot Patch
which donated in excess of $10,000.00 worth of goods, services and money
over the past year. Over the past year this business worked with
various benefits and fundraisers including the Terry Peeples benefit,
the Wayne Sharp benefit golf tournament, the Martha Rainey medical fund,
the Austin Orms t-shirt benefit, several cancer benefits to raise
awareness and donations, and two different t-shirt benefits for Mr.
Norman Logan. C&H Monograms also donates monogramming to all
the Eastland Memorial Hopital Volunteers for their aprons. They
are also an avid supporter of Autism Speaks and over the past two years
have donated $2,000.00 which qualified them as “Grand Club” sponsors.
Pam Rose & Ginger Vaughn of The Old Toads receive award from Clint
Coffee
The Community Service of the Year Award went to The Old Toads, headed
by Pam Rose. This group has been responsible for flowers and
plants around the courthouse, the post office drive thru, the Women’s
Club, KATX, the Police Department, outside the Eastland Library, and
around the railroad depot area. They provided decorations around
the square on Halloween and added lights to the square during the
Christmas season.
Girling Health Care
The Business of the Year Award went to Girling Health Care who have
been caring for over 25 years in the Eastland County area. Locally
this company employees a comprehensive staff that includes eleven
registered nurses, ten licensed vocational nurses, five home health
aids, one community educator, two full time physical therapists (both
have PhD’s) and a support staff of seven. All of their employees
live in the communities where they provide care, with a “neighborhood
nursing concept.” By utilizing local talent, they provide a
positive impact to the local area, and their employees’ participation in
local activities and events creates an intangible contribution to the
area.
Larry Vernon & Clint Coffee
Mayor Mark Pipkin introduced the Golden Deed Award winner by holding
up four different items that he felt would describe this year’s winner.
The first item was a Bible, the second was a red and black Maverick pom
pom, the third set of items were a calculator and a copy of Microsoft
Excel, and the last item was an Allsup’s travel mug. These
items told everyone who knew him that Larry Vernon was this year’s
winner. The introduction of Larry by Mayor Pipkin can be
replayed in the podcast below.
Special thanks went to: Debbie Wharton, Alpha Graphics, Bobby
Williamson, Ranger College, Eastland I.S.D., Playoff Sports, The Texas
Historical Commission, Larry Wesson, Bill Dolen, The Gold Lantern, The
First Baptist Church for providing the facilities, and Representative
Jim Keffer who provided award winners with a signed official certificate
from his office.
Silent
Auction items were donated by Carolyn White and Cathy Jentho
Chamber of Commerce 2010 Officers:
President – Clint Coffee Vice President – Tom O’Neil Treasurer
– Cory Criswell
Board Members:
Sheri Johnson, Carolyn White, Richard Rossander, Jim Farrar, Angela
Kennedy Robinson, Sharon Siebert, Gordon Woolam
