Our banquet was a night to remember!  The stars were out for our event “Dining with the Stars”.  Who were the stars on hand for the  award winning night?  Why, it was the business owners and employees that came out to join us. 

We had beautiful music provided by Satchie Deese to get the night started.  Watermelon Idol winner, Danny Gilmore also entertained us as we enjoyed a meal prepared by Mickey’s Restaurant.   Next up, Jerome Davis delivered a motivating talk on being involved and making a difference.  He is the owner of five McDonald’s restaurants including our Pageland location.  He encouraged us to wake up believing each day will be SUPER FANTASTIC.  That alone will put you in a terrific frame of mind and ready to face the day.

Chamber President, Tony Nolan then informed those present about the events the Chamber sponsored over the past year.  He encouraged members to take a part in as many events as they can, so that we can continue them.  The Watermelon Festival is always looking for volunteers and the Chamber announced big plans for the mony raised through that effort.  Over the next five years the Chamber of Commerce in Pageland has pledged $5000 per year toward Economic Development.  This total of $25,000 will come exclusively from Festival funds.  Membership fees are strickly used for the day to day operations of the office.  With this commitment, the board will be seeking  volunteers to help us with the festival - continuing to grow it and profit from it.

We swiftly moved on to the awards portion of our program.  We are fortunate to have many people to acknowledge each year and a list of accomplishments is below:

5 years in Business:  Goody’s (Peebles) Department Store

10 years in Business:  Priority Health Care Equipment and M & M Leisure Travel

15 years in Business:  Benton Sanitation

20 years in Business:  Bladez Hair Salon, H & R Block, Hospice of Chesterfield County, Marathon Convenience Store and Paul Burch Judge for the State of SC

25 years in Business:  Brock Enterprises

30 years in Business:  Dr. Charles Powell, Jr DMD and Chesco Services

35 years in Business:  Pageland Chiropractic – Ralph Picolet

40 years in Business:  First Citizens Bank, First Palmetto Savings Bank, Merle Norman Studios – Darlene Miles

45 Years in Business:  Pageland Farm Equipment

50 Years in Business:  Gwen’s Salon of Beauty, Inc.

60 Years in Business:  Sandhill Telephone Cooperative, Inc.

70 Years in Business:  Pageland Furniture Company

100 Years in Business:  Pageland Progressive Journal

Business Improvement Awards:  A+ Computers, Pageland Paint, 4K Grill, Ralph Picolet (Sunshine Shop building), National Finance Company, New Creations Embriodery, Pageland Floral & Gift, Adam Foard Law, Tommy Agerton (Nationwide Insurance building), Pageland Pride Partnership Group

Community Improvements Award:  Mack Nicholson

Business Expansion Award:  Screwmatics of South Carolina, Inc., C.M. Tucker Lumber Companies, LLC and Douglas Machine Shop, Inc.

Friend of the Festival Award:  Gerald Miller

Chamber Service Volunteer Award:  Charles & Anita Powell

Chamber Event Service Awards:  Michael Kee – Tour of Homes and Steve Kirchin – Golf Tournament

Community Service Award – High Point Volunteer Fire Department

Community Spirit Award – Luther Benson – (trees, etc in Petersburg), Central High School Girls 2A Softball State Champs, Conbraco (new flag)

Non-Profit of the Year Award:  Chesterfield County First Steps

Corporate Citizen of the Year Award:  Screwmatics of South Carolina, Inc.

Our table decoration winner:  Douglas Machine Shop

32″ Flat Screen TV winner:  Robyn Horne