A few records were broken Tuesday evening during the Perry Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, starting with the amount of people who attended.
Chamber Director Lynsi Pasutti said there were around 150 people at the event, and they actually had to cut off the RSVPs over the weekend and add several tables to accommodate everyone. The evening started with a welcome from Chamber Board President Travis Landgrebe, Store Manager of the Perry Fareway. Attendees were then treated to a meal provided by Harvey’s at Hotel Pattee.
After dinner, the program began, with Landgrebe introducing his fellow Board members and the Chamber Ambassadors. He then gave the mic to Raccoon Valley Radio’s Shawn Kenney, who did a recap of all the successes Perry and the Chamber had in 2018. Pasutti then spoke, giving a rundown of specifics from the last year. After that it was time for the awards, starting with the inaugural Ambassador of the Year, which was given to Misty VonBehren of the Perry Public Library. Next was the Jack Finneseth Memorial Volunteer of the Year, which was Emily Leslie of Backwards Properties.
Finally, the Spirit of Perry Business of the Year Award winner was crowned, with J.P. Hulgan of Hulgan Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electrical taking home the coveted hardware. Hulgan was surprised but excited to win the award, and admitted he hadn’t prepared a speech. “When my secretary offered the names of the people also nominated, I thought ‘I don’t have to worry about winning this!’ (There’s) some pretty awesome things going on in Perry, so to be chosen to get this award, that’s pretty special for everything that’s going on.”
After the awards, the silent auction winners were announced, and the live pie auction began. The proceeds from both went towards the annual Fourth of July fireworks display. Leslie had a few additional distinctions during that portion of the evening: a package from Backwards Boutique was the highest-selling silent auction item, fetching $280 from Bethany Wicks; and Backwards Properties won the highest-priced pie of the night, a “Death by Chocolate” cake provided by Hotel Pattee, which they purchased for $530. Leslie explained her and her family’s philanthropy for Perry. “We just want to give back to the community in every way that we can, and fireworks is just a great way to do that! Everybody enjoys the fireworks for the Fourth of July, and it’s just our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community.”
All total, the pie and silent auction brought in $5,370 for the fireworks fundraiser. The amount raised and the number of desserts offered were also records for the event.
