Chamber banquet set for March 24

The Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 97th Annual Chamber Banquet on March 24. The banquet theme is “An Evening with the Stars” and chamber will honor the 2017 Business Citizen, and Non-Profit Organization of the Year.

The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Hot Springs County Fair Building to the music of local, Eric Kay, during the no host social hour. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., with the awards and speakers starting at 7 p.m. The evening will finish with more music from Kay.

Business of the Year nominees are A Cut Above, Hot Springs Veterinary Clinic, One Eyed Buffalo Brewing Company, One Stop Repair & Service Center, Owl Creek Graphics, RT Communications, Thermopolis Hardware & Mercantile, Trails End Restaurant, Tumbleweed Propane, Wind River Radio Network and Wisdom Tree Consultation & Counseling Service.

Citizen of the Year nominees are Kay Bjorklund, Catherine Crumpler, Shelley Deromedi, Dan Herdt, Jim Lash, Travis McDermott, Tawna McQueen, Doug Nichols, TJ Owsley, Ray Shaffer, Karen Sinclair, the Thermopolis Post Office team, Barb Vietti and Dr. Bill Williams.

Non-Profit of the Year nominees are Big Horn Enterprises, Department of Workforce Services, Federated Community Church, H Diamond W Youth Camp, HSC Historical Society, HSC Library, Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital, Kiwanis Club of Thermopolis, Main Street Thermopolis, River of Live Fellowship and Wyoming Dinosaur Center

This year, the chamber is changing it up a little and has V.J. Smith, a professional speaker and published author, as the motivational speaker for the evening. Smith graduated from South Dakota State University in 1978 and spent the decade of the 1980s working for the Allied Signal Aerospace Company in Kansas City. He returned to his alma mater in 1990, working for six years in the SDSU Athletic Department. He was appointed Executive Director of the SDSU Alumni Association in 1996. In January 2007, he left that position to pursue a career in professional speaking. Smith travels the country and makes over 100 speaking appearances a year.

Smith is the author of the best-selling book, “The Richest Man in Town.” The book details Smith’s relationship with a little old man who ran a cash register at a local Wal-Mart. “That guy changed my life,” Smith said.

Tickets are $40 each or $340 for a table of 8. Please contact the Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce to reserve your tickets at 864-3192 or online at http://www.thermopolischamber.org