By By Lee Weyhrich
The deadline is quickly approaching to buy tickets for the 59th Annual Meeting of the Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce. "Our deadline to buy tickets is Tuesday," Chamber of Commerce Director Emilie Mims said. "This event is usually a sellout."
The banquet is taking place at the auditorium of the Atmore Community Center. Less than 275 people may comfortably use the auditorium at any given time, Chamber secretary Shelly Williams said. "People need to call right away if they want to have a place," she said. "Tickets are available at the office for members and non-members."
This year a new chamber president will be nominated and the citizen of the year will be announced, a lifetime achievement award will also be awarded to an individual, Mims said. "Only six Lifetime Achievement Awards have ever been given since the first one in 1996," Williams said.
This year's event is being catered by McElhaney's and Alabama State Treasurer Kay Ivey will be the guest speaker, Mims said. According to Ivey's web-site she is a native of Camden, Ala. and was sworn in in 2003 as the 38th Treasurer of the State of Alabama.
According to her the Greater Escambia Council for the Arts is performing selections from the Broadway musical, "I do, I do."
According to the State Treasury Web-site,"Since taking office, Treasurer Ivey has been focused on cost savings and efficiencies in the Treasurer's Office, and she has worked to help Alabamians know more about the financial situation of our state."
She is also a 1967 graduate of Auburn University and was the first woman to be elected to Auburn's Student Government Association Vice President and President of the SGA Senate. She currently resides in Montgomery.
"To reserve tickets, people can call the Chamber at 368-3305," Mims concluded.