Three Bay Area chambers — Friendswood, League City and Pearland — introduced new officers and directors and passed out awards in recent days while celebrating the beginning of a new year. The Friendswood Chamber celebrated its 50th anniversary with a big gala at the San Luis Resort in Galveston, while Pearland Chamber members gathered at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Pearland and League City Chamber members celebrated at South Shore Harbour Resort in League City.
By Mary Alys Cherry
Friendswood Chamber marks 50th anniversary
A crowd of more than 200 gathered at the San Luis Resort and Conference Center for a gala to celebrate the Friendswood Chamber’s 50th anniversary and honor some of its key members.
That included retiring Chairman of the Board Bill Provenzano of HomeTown Bank of Friendswood, who turned his gavel over to new Chairman Robert Rinehart of American National Insurance.
The Business of the Year Award went to State Sen. Larry Taylor of Truman Taylor Insurance, which is the longest chamber member on record and a second generation business.
Rochelle Barr was named the Citizen of the Year.
Other awards included:
Joyce Toliver of Allstate Insurance was honored as Business Person of the Year;
Gail Figueroa of Amoco Federal Credit Union and Rebecca Lilley of Memorial Herman Southeast Hospital received the Chairman’s Award;
Jimmy Mauricio, general sales manager for Ron Carter Cadillac Hyundai of Clear Lake, was named Rookie of the Year;
Katherine Ideno of Huntington Your Tutoring Solution was chosen Ambassador of the Year.
Chamber President Carol Marcantel and staff members Lucy Woltz and Diane Hass also were recognized for their work throughout the year.
Chamber directors include Chris Brown of Big Splash Web Design, Chuck Conway of Auto Tech Pro Service Center, Buzz Crainer of the Friendswood Journal, Karen Felder of Patriot Bank, Sheron Granere of Gary Green Real Estate, Katherine Ideno of Huntington Your Tutoring Solution, Renee Langdon of State Farm Insurance and Rebecca Lilley of Memorial Herman Southeast Hospital.
League City Chamber hosts 2014 Super Bowl of Business Excellence
The 400+-member League City Chamber introduced a new and, we might add, exciting concept at this year’s annual awards banquet, held Feb. 1 at South Shore Harbour Resort.
The annual event, held this year on the eve of the Super Bowl, was called the “Super Bowl of Business Excellence” and those attending wore their favorite team’s jerseys and decorated tables in their team’s colors – resulting in a rousing success.
Besides a fine dinner, all enjoyed a “Wine Pull,” a “Celebrity Dessert Auction” and dancing to the music of DJ Mark DuVerney with M.A.D. Productions.
South Shore Harbour Resort was chosen Business of the Year with its general manager, Roy Green winning the Most Valuable Player Award.
Other award winners were:
- Community Spirit – Janice Hallisey of League City Proud;
- Rookie of the Year – Trisha Barita, Barita and Keough Law Firm;
- Community Improvement – UTMB Health;
- Non-Profit of the Year – Bay Area Turning Point.
Bonnie Benkula was introduced as the new chairman, succeeding outgoing Chairman Mike Duckworth of HomeTown Bank – League City.
Chamber directors include Bridget Bear of South Shore Harbour, Jean Foty of ServPro of Clear Lake, Heather Fischer of Hope Village, Dale Hardy of GEOSurv, John Towner of Bay Area Courier and Delivery, Deborah Bly of ReMax, Sue Rightly of Houston Methodist St. John Hospital, Jerry Graham of LJA Engineering, Bonnie Lem of YourTown TV, Owen Rock of the City of League City and Santiago Mendoza Jr. of Bay Area Regional Medical Center.
Pearland Chamber honors former city manager at gala
A crowd of nearly 400 was on hand when the Pearland Chamber hosted its 52nd annual Banquet at the Knights of Columbus Hall to salute outgoing Chairman Sue Flannigan of the Berkeley Eye Center and welcome 2014 Chairman Mona Chavarria of A & A Cleaning Services.
During the awards ceremony, retired Pearland City Manager Bill Eisen was presented the Leadership Recognition Award – honored for his longevity and success in managing the city during 12 years of explosive growth. “He came to Pearland in 2001…and has led the city through many challenges while increasing its budget to $209.4 million with 614 full-time and 135 part-time employees,” the chamber said in making the presentation.
Other awards presented during the evening include:
- Citizen of the Year – Justice of the Peace Gordon Starkenburg;
- Business of the Year – Big Star Ford;
- Ambassador of the Year – Melanie Melancon;
- Chairman’s Award – John Lyle VII of Kelsey Seybold Clinic.
Chamber officers for 2014 include the incoming and outgoing chairman, Chairman-elect Patrick Larking of the Larkin Law Firm; Secretary-Treasurer Sean Murphy of HomeTown Bank of Pearland, Vice Chairman of Administration Kevin Fuller of Merrill Lynch, Vice Chairman of Commerce Development Ron Bavarian of Freese and Nichols, Vice Chairman of Community Development Dion McInnis of the University of Houston-Clear Lake Pearland Campus and Vice Chairman of Investor Development John Lyle VII of Kelsey-Seybold Clinic.
Serving as directors are Charity Ellis of Advocare International, Alpesh Shukla of Candlewood Suites, Brian Holroyd of Triad Construction, Kristofer Schoeffler, DVM, of the Pearland Animal Hospital, Mike Orlando of Champion Energy Services and Ram Aguilera of the MexSeaCo Bar and Grill.
