Mario Rangel named the 2023-2024 Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce President
According to the Uvalde Chamber of Commerce Facebook Post, the 103 Annual Awards and Dinner Banquet was a sold out event which was held last Friday night, February 3rd, 2023 at the Uvalde County Fairplex.
The event was advertised as a black tie, formal banquet where many local business owners and management, local government officials, non-profit organization board members attended the $600 per table or $75 per ticket event. There were a few seen wearing decorative party masks at the masquerade event although the infamous Phantom of the Opera did not make an appearance at the event.
Perhaps next year’s Chamber Banquet could be themed as the Phantom of the Opera awards banquet? After all, Uvalde does have an opera house theater located just above Carlyle Cave. Seeing people in formal attire was a bit surreal for me. I kept hearing the chorus to Doug Stone’s Country Hit, Jukebox with a Country Song. Editorial Comments
The outgoing Chamber of Commerce President Karla Radike called the official meeting of the Uvalde Chamber of Commerce to order, the outgoing members of the Uvalde Area C of C Board of Directors were recognized for their respective work. new board members were introduced and then Mario Rangel was introduced as the new organization’s president.
The 2023-2024 Board of Directors comprise the following persons:
Mario Rangel, President; J Allen Carnes, Vice President ; Karla Radicke, Past President; Dusty Routh, Treasurer; Conrad Klein, Director ;Jessica Zamora, Director; Amy Carnes, Director ;Kennedy Hubbell, Director; Sorayda A. Sanchez, Director and Hanna Case Director.
The following businesses were the award recipients for the following business categories for their award respective categories:
Best in Customer Service: The Uvalde County Fairplex
Rookie Business of the Year: The Petal Florist
Small Business of the Year: Sabrina Hendrix Photography
Business of the Year: Sacred Heart Catholic School
The awards program culminated with the Uvalde Volunteer of the Year and Uvaldean of the Year.
Dr. Keven Ermis was named the Uvalde Volunteer of the Year and Tru Hiatt was recognized as Uvaldean of the Year.
Chamber President John Yeackle said at the end of the awards ceremony this years event is ready for the books.
I guess that will be the next time my tuxedo will get a chance to come out of the closet. On my way home from the Banquet, I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few items. At the self checkout. a store associate saw me and said, |Oh, you must have been at the Chamber Banquet.” Editorial comment
