Some celebrate birthdays or anniversaries for a day, week or even a month. But the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce will spend the next seven months celebrating its 70th year from August to February.
While Trussville will not officially turn 70 until 2017, the Chamber of Commerce was established in 1946, a year before Trussville’s incorporation.
The “7 Months to 70” celebration was inspired by an idea that Chamber Executive Director Diane Poole got. She received it from a colleague in Louisiana while brainstorming with other chamber directors.
“We’re hoping to gain some awareness of the chamber in our community, maybe recruit a few additional members, but in general educate the community on what the chamber does,” she said.
The seven-month celebration will kick off Aug. 12 from 1 to 3 p.m. with an ice cream social at the chamber office. Local businesses will bring freezers of homemade ice cream, which attendees will sample and vote for the best three. The top finishers will get prizes.
At least one event will take place each month as part of the celebration, with a Drive-by at 5 in September, special recognitions at the annual chamber golf tournament Oct. 4 and the Maple Leaf Run Oct. 29. In November, past executive directors including Sandra Gardner, Courtney Dollar, Jenny Ellison, Cissy Edwards Crowe and Delane Melvin will be recognized at the Nov.
17 luncheon. The chamber will have a special entry in the Dec. 10 Christmas Parade and past presidents of the chamber’s board of directors will be recognized at the Jan. 19 luncheon.
The celebration will conclude at the chamber’s annual banquet in February.
The chamber began in the former co-op store of the original Cahaba Homestead Village or “Cahaba Project” built in the 1930s as part of the New Deal’s Resettlement Administration. In 2015, the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce office moved to 400 Main St. across from Chocolate Biscuit.
For more information about the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce, go to trussvillechamber.com.
