Chamber celebrates achievements during annual awards banquet

The Chesterfield County Chamber of Commerce will host its annual awards banquet and dinner on Friday, Jan. 27, at the Holiday Inn Koger Conference Center, with a NASA engineer as the keynote speaker.

Donner Grigsby, who was recruited by NASA for its six-year-long Engineering Technician Apprentice Program to learn to design vehicles for the space program, was named NASA Langley’s Speaker of the Year in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

On Friday, he will talk about the theme “Lessons Learned from Exploration” and discuss how space exploration concepts can be metaphorically applied to successes in the business world.

With a theme of “All Systems Are Go,” the chamber will celebrate the efforts of the organization’s best and brightest members and their achievements in the local business community.

Darcy Warren, CCCC communications and events director, spearheaded the planning for the awards banquet.

“Every year, we pick a motivational and inspirational theme and use it throughout the entire year,” Warren said. “And we also wanted to get someone from NASA to appear at this year’s banquet, so we chose that theme for 2012, and we went with it.”

Manufacturer DuPont is one of the major co-sponsors of the banquet, and the company will present its Community Heroes awards to local residents. K.C. Sehlhorst will receive Firefighter of the Year, John S. Farmer Jr. will be honored as Police Officer of the Year and Nancy Hoover will be given the Teacher of the Year award.

The identities of the chamber’s Business of the Year and Member of the Year recipients, however, are still under wraps. Those names won’t be revealed until Friday evening’s awards ceremony.

The chamber is focused on creating solidarity in the local business community. And Friday night’s awards presentation will highlight the ways that members have helped foster economic development in Chesterfield County during the past year.

“Well, we’re pro-business, and I think a strong business community provides jobs and attracts other businesses − like Amazon − to Chesterfield,” Warren said. “And if we’re more desirable, it will bring many more to the county, and that will make Chesterfield grow.”

The celebration and installation of officers will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday at the Holiday Inn Koger Conference Center at 1021 Koger Center Boulevard in Chesterfield.

The event, black tie-optional, will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a networking mixer. The banquet dinner and awards program will start at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $60 for members and $75 for non-members.

For more information, call 748-6364, ext. 2.