Around 100 people gathered at the Hotel Pattee last night as the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated 2013 and looked ahead to the rest of 2014.

Attendees enjoyed a buffet dinner and keynote address from cartoonist Mike Lynch.

Taking home the Spirit of Perry award was Raccoon Valley Radio.  Chamber Executive Director Bob Wilson says the trio of stations, and primarily KDLS-AM was recognized for their many contributions to the community.

The Citizen of the Year award was given to Raccoon Valley Radio’s Shawn Kenney who has been a long time Perry supporter and is a former Chamber board President.

2013 was looked at as the “year of the volunteer” and the Chamber took time to acknowledge everyone who helped with event such as RAGBRAI, Fly Iowa, the grand opening of the Raccoon River Valley Trail’s north loop and several other community events.

Special recognition was also given to Parker’s Flowers owner Brian Parker and longtime employee Betty Thomas for the shop’s six decades of business in Perry.  And Dallas County Hospital was thanked for providing quality health care in Perry for 60 years.