Business and community leaders came together Thursday night to celebrate the successes of the past year and what the future holds at the Stuart Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner.

The event was held at the Saints Center for Culture and the Arts, where the public was encouraged to come “All Aboard” to hear what’s been going on in the community. Many citizens spoke of popular ongoing events like Scoop the Loop, the Bonnie and Clyde 5 Mile Run, and the Best of the Block BBQ. The group also heard about progress made on the three housing additions led by the Stuart Enterprise for Economic Development, the Stuart Area Young Professionals’ involvement in the community, and the Sesquicentennial celebration happening in June.

Recently elected Chamber President Ryan Morrison led the presentations that evening with remarks on his goals for leading a cohesive effort to enhance the town, “The rest of the Board agrees that it’s time we focus on the original mission of the Chamber. The mission of developing the community through the advancement of commercial, agricultural, industrial, and civic interests of Stuart. The best way to do this is developing a cohesive plan, a plan that many different organizations and groups could use as a guide when carrying out their missions. We need this road map to get us where we want to go rather than seeing just where we end up.”

Last but not least was a guest speaker presentation from Alan Feirer of Group Dynamic based in Winterset. Feirer’s thesis was on communication and empathy, which had no shortage of laughs as he shared relatable stories of fatherhood and other experiences. The Chamber is still accepting memberships for 2020, more information can be found by emailing stuartchamber@aol.com.