Perry’s commercial classes gathered Tuesday night at La Poste for the annual Perry Chamber of Commerce awards banquet. About 100 members and guests mingled over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and listened to the music of Blue Stem — Shannon and Cindy Bryan of Jamaica — before sitting down to a buffet dinner catered by Hy-Vee.
Perry Chamber of Commerce Vice President Macinzie McFarland welcomed the assembly to the 2018 awards banquet. Board members were introduced, though not all were present. President Emily Leslie was recognized along with Sven Peterson, Lee Coons, Travis Landgrebe, Shawn Kenney, Matt Rohe, Clark Wicks, Andrew Brommer, Eileen Spendore, Lisa Widick and Mark Powell.
Kenney thanked former Chamber Executive Director Bob Wilson for his many years of service to the chamber, with the Rev. Chris Reising of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church offering an invocation and blessing before the dinner.
Lynsi Pasutti, recently hired to replace Wilson, briefly spoke to those gathered but deferred to Kenney to recall all that had been accomplished in the past year.
Kenney reviewed what he called “a year of successes” and touched on the Chamber’s accomplishments last year and its ongoing projects for this year.
He encouraged those gathered to remain focused on supporting local businesses.
“Des Moines is not local,” Kenney said, “Waukee is not local, Urbandale is not local. When we talk about local, we need to be talking about inside the city limits of Perry — that is what local is.”
Joanne Warnock, who lives outside the city limits of Perry and in Boone County, received a special award on behalf of her late husband, Joe Warnock. The award was presented in recognition of the many projects in which Warnock was involved that helped to better the community.
“He knew most everyone and was a friend to all,” Coons said in presenting the posthumous award. “His talent was beyond amazing, and his mind was constantly churning. He was intelligent, humble and artistic. Maybe artistic types have a hard time concentrating on one thing at a time because they are always thinking about their next project, but that was Joe. He gave so very much of his time to Perry and if I look at the downtown buildings that he has had his hands on, I need both of my hands to count them all. True, some of those were paying jobs, but I wager that plenty were not because he just liked to help. No matter what you asked for help with, Joe always tried to do his best at answering your questions or showing you exactly what you needed to do. Although upsetting as a posthumous nomination, the award is very much deserving. You are missed dearly, Joe.”
Coons introduced Scott Finneseth, who presented the Jack Finneseth Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award to Andrea Tunink of Farm Credit Services for her many efforts in promoting Perry and organizing numerous events.
“Service to others is said to be ‘the rent you pay for your room here on earth,’ and Andrea goes above and beyond to share her talents for the benefit of others,” Coons said. “Even as a wife and mother of three, with a full time career and a ”small’ house remodeling project, it is just not Andrea’s style to make any excuse to not find the time in her busy schedule to be involved in the community, not only as a volunteer but in a number of leadership positions. Whether it is leading an appraisal team for an afternoon of volunteering at Forest Park Museum, filling her uncle’s position on the Perry Carnegie Library Museum Board to help plan the John Glass Kids Fest, helping coordinate fundraising efforts for XiPi Sorority’s donating back to the community, creating a float for the Lighted Parade or working to expand the area’s softball league, Andrea is devoted to her community and makes an impact in many ways.”
The Spirit of Perry Business of the Year Award was presented to Jan and Jay Pattee, owners of Ben’s Five and Dime. Coons briefly reflected on the long years of dedication the Pattee’s have shown to downtown Perry while noting the unfortunate blow the business recently received due to smoke damage from a nearby fire.
“Jan and Jay Pattee can be described as ‘Pillars of the Community’ and a very hard working couple,” Coons said. “Their commitment to this community is quite obvious, not only in the goods and services they provide to their customers but also through the significant investment they’ve made in remodeling their building, which demonstrates their dedication as business owners as well as intent to contribute to the liveability and vibrancy of this community. Ben’s Five and Dime is not only an anchor business in the downtown but a staple of the community. Not one or two but three nominations were submitted for Ben’s Five and Dime, and this was all before the fire that caused such devastating smoke damage.”
The Pattees received a standing ovation from their many friends and admirers at the banquet.
The blue-green awards for the 2018 Perry Chamber of Commerce banquet were provided by Bacon Jewelers, a downtown Perry business for more than 50 years and another victim of the recent fire.
A pie auction for the chamber’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration followed the awards ceremony, with auctioneer Dr. Tom Burkgren’s good-natured ribbing and cajoling helping generate $3,445 in bids and another $345 in donations.
“This gives us a fantastic kick-off for the Fireworks Fundraising Drive at $3,790,” Passuti said. “Our goal is $15,000, so we’re a quarter of the way there!”
