Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive |
Ward to MC banquetBY JOHN MILLERPublished Wednesday, March 20, 2002 in the Nevada County Picayune Miss Arkansas, Jessie Ward, will be the Mistress of Ceremonies at the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce Banquet Tuesday, March 26. Ward will also be part of the featured entertainment for the evening, as she will perform the tap routine she did at the Miss Arkansas Pageant last June. Along with her duties as MC and entertainer, Ward will assist with the auction. And, she is sponsoring a new award this year Student of the Year. According to Mary Godwin, executive director of the Chamber, students will be selected from the three districts in the county by school personnel. The criteria will include academic performance, community service, leadership and extracurricular activities. These students will receive a plaque in recognition of their efforts. The theme for this year's banquet is "A Night at the Movies", with dress, once again, being casual. National Football League official Walt Coleman will be the featured speaker banquet. Coleman is a 1970 graduate of Little Rock's Central High School, and earned his BS degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas. Coleman has been officiating football since 1974, spending 14 years calling high school games in Arkansas. From there he worked games in the Southland Conference, and from 1984-88 called games in the former Southwest Conference . Coleman spent four years officiating football in the NFL in Europe, and was the referee in the World Bowl in 1995. This game was played in Edinburgh, Scotland. He began calling games in the NFL in 1989, and has had to make decisions in major contests. But Coleman's life is more than football. He's the past president of the Major Sport Association for Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce; past president of the Arkansas Dairy Products Association; past president of the Downtown Little Rock Kiwanis, where he's a George F. Hixon Fellow with Kiwanis International; and is the past chairman of the Arkansas Area Council of Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He and his wife, Cynthia, have two children, Walter and Courtney. Chad Cornelius will be the auctioneer this year. The auction has been cut down this year to help save time. The Nevada County Fair Queens and Ward will assist with the auction. Some of the items include: floral arrangements, a lift chair, bedding plants, eight telephones, a handmade double crocheted Afghan, savings bonds, a football autographed by Houston Nutt, gift certificates for gasoline, food certificates from local restaurants, mirrors, lamps, Flywheel pies, shirts and a gift package for two days in Washington, D.C. Godwin said, the auction raises enough money for the Chamber to be able to do other events throughout the year. Local songstress Brandi Karlovec will sing the national anthem to kick the banquet off. There will also be a special PowerPoint program as an added entertainment bonus. However, Godwin refused to reveal any details about the program. This year's meal is being catered by Mike and Kyla Chambliss. The menu be barbecue brisket, ham, baked beans, potato salad, peach cobbler and tea. The dinner will be buffet style, as it was last year. The awards to be presented at the banquet include recognition of the past president, Carrie Nivens, recognition of the Farm Family of the Year, the Treasure of Gold and teacher's of the year from the county's three districts. The festivities will conclude with the naming of Citizen of the Year. The banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, at the McRae Middle School cafetorium. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased either at the Chamber office or from any Chamber member. Godwin suggests those planning to attend buy their ticket early, as the MMS cafetorium has a limited seating capacity and has filled up quickly for the banquet in recent years. Search | Nevada County Picayune by date | Gurdon Times by date |
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