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Daily Sun photo/Bob Belcher Stuart Schoppert, center, received the Chamber of Commerce Chairman's Award Thursday at the annual banquet and awards ceremony. Shown with Schoppert are Aaron Johnson, left, and Xavier Villarreal, right.
Daily Sun photo/Bob Belcher Brad Haynie makes his way to the stage Thursday to accept the Arthur J. Keeney Award at the Corsicana and Navarro County Chamber of Commerce Banquet Thursday at the I.O.O.F. Event Center.
Daily Sun photo/Bob Belcher Former mayor C.L. 'Buster' Brown III was presented the Tom White Community Service Award Thursday by the Corsicana and Navarro County Chamber of Commerce. With Brown are Aaron Johnson, left, and Xavier Villarreal, right.
Daily Sun photo/Bob Belcher State Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana), center, was presented with the TAB Fighter of Free Enterprise Award at Thursday's Cosicana and Navarro County Chamber of Commerce Banquet. With Cook are Xavier Villarreal, left, and Aaron Johnson, right.
Daily Sun photo/Bob Belcher Ruby Williams, center, was honored as 'Volunteer of the Year' Thursday at the Corsicana and Navarro County Chamber Commerce Annual Banquet. Shown with Williams are Xavier Villarreal, left, outgoing chamber chairman, and Aaron Johnson, right, the new chairman of the chamber.

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February 4, 2012

Chamber of Commerce celebrates 94th annual awards ceremony

By Janet Jacobs Corsicana Daily Sun The Corsicana Daily Sun Sat Feb 04, 2012, 07:44 PM CST

Corsicana — It was an evening of dancing, humor and dining Thursday night at the 94th Annual Corsicana/Navarro County Chamber of Commerce banquet held at the new I.O.O.F. Events Center. According to Executive Director Paul Hooper, 520 people were at the event Thursday, making it the largest banquet in recent history.

Brad Haynie, who recently stepped down from the Derrick Days chairmanship, was awarded the Arthur J. Keeney award for his continued support and work on the Derrick Days committee.

“This man brought Derrick Days back to our community,” Hooper said, and the crowd responded by giving Haynie a standing ovation.

The Keeney award is named for former Corsicana Daily Sun publisher Arthur Keeney, who was active in dozens of organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, and who demonstrated a community-oriented philosophy.

Ruby Williams, city councilwoman, was named Volunteer of the Year for her consistent willingness to go “above and beyond” what’s asked of her, Hooper said. Stuart Schoppert received the Chairman’s Award for his work as a volunteer on the chamber’s fundraisers, both the golf tournament and “Always, Patsy Cline.”

The Tom White Community Service Award went to former mayor C.L. “Buster” Brown, who was recognized as an inspiration to those around him, and someone who has improved overall quality of life within the community. In addition to his service on various boards and within the city government, Brown also founded the Clifford Foundation Scholarships, which has awarded 80 full-time scholarships to local students, allowing them to attend college without going into debt.

Aaron Johnson presented the “Past Chairman’s Award” to out-going chairman of the board Xavier Villarreal. In addition, a special certificate from the Texas Association of Business was presented to incumbent Texas Rep. Byron Cook by Executive Director Paul Hooper for his pro-business voting record in the Texas legislature.

Johnson, who went through the chamber’s leadership class, and then became a member of the board, has stepped forward to take a greater role in the chamber, and he urged further participation not just by the board members, but by all the chamber members whose input would be welcomed, he said.

Dr. Neal Green, who has been an OB/GYN in Corsicana for 41 years, brought a self-deprecating sense of humor to the keynote address by pointing out that the past speakers have been big-name professional speakers. Green made use of the other people on the dais by making them hold up huge posters saying “clap,” “laugh,” or “standing ovation.”

“Every word I say tonight is profound,” Green said, mockingly.

“Corsicana and Navarro County has taken some pretty good hits lately, but we’ve taken them before. When Hughes Tool left, I didn’t think anyobody in Corsicana would ever get pregnant again,” he added, a line that had the audience roaring with laughter.

The gist of his speech was that when each of us do well, the whole has to do well, also.

Green specifically spoke to the strength and improvements in the city’s healthcare facilities, such as the new emergency room, construction of the new cancer treatment center, opening of TriSun, and Lott’s new chiropractic center, and the various home health and nursing offices.

“I have the greatest optimism about the future of our county, the future of our town, and the health care industry,” Green said.

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Janet Jacobs may be reached via email at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” to this story? Email: Soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com

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