94th annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Auction & Awards Banquet held

The Marion Chamber of Commerce held its 94th Annual Auction & Awards Banquet on Friday, January 16, 2015 at The Pavilion of the City of Marion.

The event began with Registration, which was sponsored by Futiva, LLC, and coat check, which was sponsored by Monica McGinley with Re/Max Above and Beyond.

Social Hour, which was sponsored by Mayer Networks, began at 5:30 p.m. and featured hors d’oeuvres, sponsored by First Southern Bank, and beverages and entertainment, which was sponsored by Black Diamond Harley Davidson, including performances by Keith Ital, an Elvis impersonator. The Social Hour also featured the Hurst-Rosche Signature Drink. 

Attendees had their photographs taken at the Ike Family Dealerships Photo Stage in the Banquet Room. 

A Wine Pull, sponsored by Mayer Networks, was held in the Expo Hall and included wines from the following donors:

• Williamson County Tourism Bureau
• Brian Ziegler
• Wirtz
• Mary Jo McCurdy
• Orlandini Vineyard
• Alto Vineyard
• Deborah Hogg
• Tracey Glenn
• Rick Richert
• ​Ashley Gott
• Jim Parker
• Jennifer Olson
• Lisa Hudgens
• Parkway Manor
• Marilyn Jones
• Cheri Romonosky
• Beau Detrick

Diamond Designs coordinated a Diamond Drop to benefit The Poshard Foundation for Abused Children. For more information about the event, click here. 

The Silent Auction began at 5:30 p.m. and ended around 8 p.m. The following people won prizes:

• Hayden Gardiner won the Banterra Bank BBQ Basket
• Hayden Gardiner won the Banterra Bank Wine Basket
• Barb Mason won the Boudoir Basket from Boars Nest, The Blue Boar Restaurant & Artistic Photography by Sydney
• Shannon Johnson won the Canvas Basket from Silkworm and Taco Johns
• Jenny Gutierrez won the Community Day Miners Basket from the Marion Chamber of Commerce Community Day Committee
• Chris Sievers won the Elevate Your View Basket by Alto Vineyards and Baysinger Architects
• Liz Lively won the Entrepreneurial Book Basket from the Illinois Small Business Development Center
• Hayden Gardiner won the Farmers State Bank Hiking Basket
• Ted Gutierrez won the Father/Son Days Out Basket from Crab Orchard Golf Club, Taco Johns and Pepsi MidAmerica
• Rhonda Bottoms won the Grand Rivers Spirits Basket from Red Eye
• Hayden Gardiner won the High School Senior Basket from Artistic Photography by Sydney and Closet Consignment
• Jenny Gutierrez won the Design Your Business Basket from Hurst-Rosche Engineers and Stiles
• Ben Morris won the Multi-Media Ad Package from The Daily Republican
• Rhonda Bottoms won the Pamper Yourself Basket from Fifth Season Assisted Living
• Melissa Voss won the Sweetheart Basket from Artistic Photography by Sydney and Blue Sky Winery
• Rhonda Bottoms won the Walker's Bluff Basket

Jon Wofford served as the Main Emcee for the evening. 

Dalus Strusz, Executive Director of the Marion Chamber, reviewed the Chamber's accomplishments in 2014 and introduced the slideshow, which was created by Kristin Paul with the Marion Chamber and recapped the year's events.

The invocation was given by Pastor Bob Dickerson with the First Baptist Church of Marion.

Dinner began at 7, which included desserts sponsored by South Porte Bank. 

Rick Richert reflected on his time as the Chair of the Marion Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and introduced Ashley Gott, the 2015 Chair of the Board. 

Paxton Guy served as the Awards Emcee for the evening and started off the awards presentations with the Award of Excellence in Service to the Marion High School Grad Spree, which was presented to Jim Parker and Doug Peebles. 

Mayor Robert Butler took the stage to give his reflections on the "banner year" for the City of Marion. 

Next, the Mayor's Service Award was given to Lynn Holmes and Doug Bradley.

Paxton then introducted Mike Mitchell, with AISIN Light Metals, who took the stage to accept the 2014 Business/Industry of the Year Award on behalf of AISIN Light Metals. For more about AISIN Light Metals, click here. 

The Young Professional Leadership Award was given to Tim Arseneau. 

Kimberly Walker was awarded the Distinguished Chamber Member Award. 

The Citizen of the Year recipient was Gail West.

Finally, the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Bernard Paul.

A video of the evening's events can be found here. 

The following photographs were sponsored by Golden Eagle Distributing.

























































































































































Sponsors include:

• Mayer Networks: Social Hour Sponsor
• Mayer Networks: Wine Pull Sponsor
• Ike Family Dealerships: Photo Stage Sponsor
• South Porte Bank: Dessert Sponsor
• First Southern Bank: Hors D'oeurvres Sponsor
• Black Diamond Harley Davidson: Entertainment Sponsor
• Monica McGinley with Re/Max Above and Beyond: Coat Check Sponsor
• Golden Eagle Distributing: Photography Sponsor
• Hurst Rosche Engineers Inc.: Signature Drink Sponsor
• Futiva LLC: Registration Sponsor