A good crowd, tasty food, great entertainment, lovely decorations and humble recipients made for a pleasant evening at the 83rd annual meeting of the Cushing Chamber of Commerce held Thursday evening at the Elk's Lodge.
The top honor of the evening - the 2009 Community Achievement Award - went to an indisputable perfect choice - Marilyn Duff. From Cushing Alumni Association beginnings to serving as the first woman Mayor of Cushing, she's done or is doing it all - and with a smile on her face. A gracious and seemingly surprised Duff accepted the award from outgoing Chamber president Marc White, saying, "What a special honor. I'm so blessed to have and have had the support of my family, friends, church and community. I appreciate all of you."
Following the presentation about Duff - which included a list of accomplishments any mother would be proud of - White said, "This is definitely the highlight of my year."
Other honors presented by White went to Dr. Robert Mullins for 2009 Volunteer of the Year and Willetta (Shields) Smith and Robert Felts named the Chamber Champions for 2009. All three stepped up to help during the time the Chamber was without a director. Mullins took a firm hold of the Festival in the Park reins while Smith and Felts filled the Chamber shoes. Brent Thompson was named the new chamber director earlier last month.
White was presented a plaque with gavel for his service from new Chamber president Kelly D. Young.
Look for more on this event on the Lifestyles page of this website.
