Smithville's annual homecoming event, Jamboree, not only greeted Smithvillians past and present but also a very, very special and highly-anticipated guest: rain! That's right...we're in the midst of one of the greatest dry spells this county has ever known and when does the rain decide to arrive????
Luckily, the rain didn't overstay its welcome. It showed up, gave us a good soaking, and blew out right before the Saturday afternoon parade. The wet conditions certainly didn't affect the mood at Riverbend Park that evening...the park was full of carnival-goers and folks who came out to enjoy the live music. Other than some cars being pulled out of the mud, nothing of note to report (thanks to all of our friends who have the big trucks that can handle the job of rescuing our little cars!)
Next on the horizon: Smithville's Annual Fly-In and Pancake Breakfast held at the county's only airport, Smithville-Crawford Municipal Airport. The Chamber really wants to work on expanding this event to include exhibits that may be of interest to aspiring pilots and non-pilots alike. Remember, everyone is invited to Fly-In!! We want to pack the hangar!! If you are keeping up with Smithville via the world wide web and have your own airplane, we would love to have you! (Our airport code is 84R and the event will be occurring on Saturday, May 16 from 9 am to noon. ).
In other news, we are in the final stages of updating and publishing our 2009-2010 member directory. The theme is "I love Smithville" and the cover happens to feature a photo of Mr. Brad Pitt taken during his stay in Smithville recently. His comments to our Chamber president were a partial inspiration for this year's theme....in fact, he remarked that his shoot in Smithville was "the most private public shoot" he's ever been involved with. He loved the fact that he could ride his bike around Smithville and no one hounded him for an autograph...he just got the same treatment we all expect in this town, a smile and a friendly wave! We can't wait to see you, Brad, in "The Tree of Life" alongside your beautiful co-star, Smithville TX!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
The calm AFTER the storm...
There has been a whirlwind of activity over the past month-and-a-half in Smithville.
The Citizen of the Year as announced at our annual awards banquet is Peggy Walicek. After hearing of all her contributions to this community, my reaction was the same as the committee that chose her -- "Are you sure she's never been named Citizen of the Year prior to now???" Congratulations to Mrs. Walicek!
Speaking of serving one's community, the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department and surrounding FD's did a marvelous job of protecting dozens of homes and businesses from the fire that broke out on February 28, the same day as the Chamber Awards Banquet. Several members of the chamber were affected directly and indirectly by this tragic turn of events; some of those folks even showed up at the banquet despite their experiences that day. Although there was some talk of postponing the event, it was determined that the Chamber could respectfully host the event, although it was a bit subdued. The true spirit of Smithville shone through as banquet attendees, dressed in their "Sunday-finest", rolled up their sleeves at the conclusion of the banquet and set up the Recreation Center to house displaced fire victims. Thankfully, there was plenty of delicious food left over from the event to serve those people in need. Silver linings!
March saw the arrival of our annual biker rally, Thunder on the Colorado, on Friday the 20th through Sunday the 22nd. Bikers from across Texas convened at RiverBend Park to show off their rides, compete in games and contests, take part in a Fun Run, enjoy some live music, and consume massive amounts of food and beverage. This event continues to generate more interest year after year, and as we here at the Chamber continue to "fine-tune" it, we hope that it can eventually become the Texas-version of Sturgis! (We've got a way to go on that one, but it doesn't hurt to dream big!)
Next up....Smithville Jamboree!
The Citizen of the Year as announced at our annual awards banquet is Peggy Walicek. After hearing of all her contributions to this community, my reaction was the same as the committee that chose her -- "Are you sure she's never been named Citizen of the Year prior to now???" Congratulations to Mrs. Walicek!
Speaking of serving one's community, the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department and surrounding FD's did a marvelous job of protecting dozens of homes and businesses from the fire that broke out on February 28, the same day as the Chamber Awards Banquet. Several members of the chamber were affected directly and indirectly by this tragic turn of events; some of those folks even showed up at the banquet despite their experiences that day. Although there was some talk of postponing the event, it was determined that the Chamber could respectfully host the event, although it was a bit subdued. The true spirit of Smithville shone through as banquet attendees, dressed in their "Sunday-finest", rolled up their sleeves at the conclusion of the banquet and set up the Recreation Center to house displaced fire victims. Thankfully, there was plenty of delicious food left over from the event to serve those people in need. Silver linings!
March saw the arrival of our annual biker rally, Thunder on the Colorado, on Friday the 20th through Sunday the 22nd. Bikers from across Texas convened at RiverBend Park to show off their rides, compete in games and contests, take part in a Fun Run, enjoy some live music, and consume massive amounts of food and beverage. This event continues to generate more interest year after year, and as we here at the Chamber continue to "fine-tune" it, we hope that it can eventually become the Texas-version of Sturgis! (We've got a way to go on that one, but it doesn't hurt to dream big!)
Next up....Smithville Jamboree!
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