Last night, the Perry Chamber of Commerce hosted their Annual Dinner celebration at La Poste, and the venue was filled with people celebrating an eventful year for the Chamber.

Chamber Board member Shawn Kenney of Raccoon Valley Radio served as emcee for the event. He spoke about the year that was, which included the hiring of new Chamber Director Lynsi Pasutti. After that, it was time to hand out awards, starting with the Jack Finneseth Memorial Volunteer of the Year, which went to Andrea Tunink. She was surprised to hear her name called, but very grateful. “It’s such an honor, because there’s just so many people in this community that do so much. I can list a handful of moms and dads who volunteer their time on the softball fields and volunteer at the schools, and they do so much. And so just to be honored in that group is very honoring!”

For business of the year, the award went to Ben’s Five and Dime and co-owners Jan and Jay Pattee. The couple offered their heartfelt thanks for the award. Jan said, “We’re very humbled and honored to be part of the community, and to have this honor tonight. And we look forward to watching Perry grow in the next years. We’re very excited about the new Chamber Director, all the events that have taken place and will take place. And we’ve always been just very glad to be part of such a warm and welcoming community.” Jay added, “You know all I can say, it’s gratitude for the award, but we wouldn’t have gotten the award without the people that supported us through the years. So what I want to say is thanks to Perry. It’s been a great run, and there will hopefully be more!”

Following the award presentations, Tom Burkgren kicked off the annual Fourth of July fireworks fundraiser with a pie auction. Desserts of all kinds sold for a total of $3,455, with the most expensive being a Snickers apple pie provided by Fareway.