A night of gratitude was experienced with the Dublin Chamber of Commerce’s annual chamber banquet.
The banquet held Saturday, Nov. 12 was themed as ‘Gratitude,’ and featured an assortment of fall decorations including pumpkins and leaves.
The event gave the chamber a chance to say thank you to their members and local businesses.
The evening included live music from harpist Christine Anderson, a catered meal from Red Barrel Bar and Grill, a silent auction and a variety of community awards.
“It was a great pleasure to celebrate our Dublin Chamber Banquet among friends and business owners, managers and officials,” Chamber President Blanca Martineau said.
This year’s Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Sandra Espinosa. Espinosa was chosen for the award for her volunteer work with Stop the Silence, Kappa Delta Chi and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
“Making sure the Hispanic population of Dublin feels appreciated and represented is not just a part of her volunteer life, but also an important part of her career as a family meeting facilitator with Child Protective Services. During a meeting, she leads the conversation, making sure that everyone gets a chance to voice their thoughts and options. She especially enjoys facilitating meetings with Spanishspeaking families,”presenter Juanita Torres said, about Espinosa.
The Billie Kloster Ambassador Award was presented to Hilda Lopez, who is the Troop Leader for Girl Scout Troop No. 4168.
She’s a role model to all ages and has been able to maintain a great group of interested girls. “She also works along with the Erath County troops to promote leadership and awareness. She has been Scout Leader for Dublin since 2015,” presenter Kristi Watkins said. “When she sees a need, she’s just the kind of person who is going to step up and do what needs to be done.”
The chamber presented the Kenneth McDaniel “Hello My Friend” award to Pat Leatherwood. The award is presented to someone’s whose outgoing personality makes Dublin a better place to live.
“Pat has a way of making everyone around him happy and shares that as an active member of the Dublin Rotary Club. He spends countless hours as a volunteer for the community in this capacity and as a school board member for DISD Board of Trustees. He also is a member of First Methodist Church in Dublin and volunteers in a variety of ways with the church. He serves as Vice President of First National Bank of Dublin,” presenter and Dublin ISD Superintendent Melissa Summers said.
This year’s Faith in Future Award was presented to Karen Wright for her latest improvement to Dublin through the Blackjack Office Center.
Presenter Paul Gaudette said that Wright has long been eligible for the award as the founder of the Dublin Citizen, a member of many civic groups and for assisting new and established businesses as the past director of the EDC.
This year’s Business Leader of the Year was presented to Michael Beard, manager at Dublin’s Brookshire Brothers.
“Michael without a doubt is a continuous, smiling, happy presence when customers step inside Brookshire Brothers. He is helpful in so many ways and goes above and beyond to make sure his business is well represented. He also has a big heart and donates for many nonprofits to aid them in a variety of causes,” Chamber Executive Director and presenter John J. Staud said.
Footprint awards for a lasting legacy to Dublin were presented to the families of Judge Latrelle Cain and high school student Eddie Hernandez.
Espinosa, who presented the award to Cain’s daughter in honor of her mother, praised Cain’s contribution to Dublin.
Cain served as a municipal judge for 25 years and served as a justice of the peace for 11 years.
Former Coach and school board member Bob Cervetto shared memories of Eddie Hernandez (“Big Eddie”), a DHS sophomore who was killed in a car accident last year, but who has had a lasting impact on students, DISD staff, athletes and community members.
Spotlight on Excellence Awards were presented by City Manager Bobby Mendez who gave three awards to the Dublin Volunteer Fire Department, Dublin Police Department and Dublin EMS for their contributions to Dublin over the past year.
This year’s Citizen of the Year award was not presented at the banquet and will be published in next week’s edition of The Dublin Citizen.