By: Tony Marks
LSN Editor
Several civic awards were presented as the Oakdale Area Chamber of Commerce held its first awards banquet since the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday, August 23.
Winning non-profit business of the year was First United Pentecostal Church. “I want to say a very big thank you to all of the members of our church,” said Pastor Tim Kelley. “They are really the ones who deserve this award. They work hard throughout the year and volunteer not only for the church but also community events, and we’re very grateful for that.”
Richard’s Tire then won the award for small business of the year. Kimberly Barron said, “Thank you, everyone, for your vote in giving (Kenneth Richard) this award. Not only is he my daddy, but he’s my hero. I look up to him. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today. We just never give up.”
After Oakdale Community Hospital won large business of the year, Darren Williams said, “This community is blessed with the clinical people that we have here.”
He went on to say, “The staff at Oakdale Community Hospital are choosing to grow. They’re choosing to get better. We’re working our way towards where we can provide all services here in this community rather than having people drive to another place. We want to provide all your healthcare needs right here at home.”
The coveted Civic Service Award was then presented to Pastor Greg Willis of Christ Church Oakdale. “It’s an honor to serve our community,” he said. “I love Oakdale; I love Allen Parish. I couldn’t have picked a better place with a better group of people to spend my life.”
Earlier in the night, Chamber President Aaron Johnson delivered his address. He shared his mission, after becoming president in March 2021, was to revitalize the chamber.
“In the beginning,” he said, “we only had a few businesses that were members in our chamber. I have to specifically thank Kay Randolph and Lavanda Abrusley for committing to hit the ground running and grow our membership. After four months of door-to-door meetings and countless hilarious stories, our membership reached 100 paid members.”
Johnson went on to say one common theme highlighted all of the meetings with businesses on Oakdale, Elizabeth, and Oberlin. That theme was the need for an annual chamber banquet. “We knew this was something we needed to do,” he said. “Time frames and logistics did not come together for the beginning of this year, but I feel tonight was well worth the wait.”
Johnson also highlighted other accomplishments over the past year including Miss Merry Christmas presentations and Christmas on Main Street festivities.