The annual meeting and award ceremony for the West Liberty Chamber of Commerce was held on Monday, Jan. 15.
Despite the frigid temperatures and treacherous roads, dozens of citizens and business owners came out to celebrate this year’s achievements.
The dinner was originally scheduled for the previous week, on Tuesday, Jan. 9, the same night West Liberty received a foot of snow.
However, Charles Brooke, Chief Operating Officer of the Chamber, wasn’t interested in any more delays.
“The weather wasn’t ideal,” Brooke said, “and I knew I didn’t want to continue to keep postponing it.”
The cold weather couldn’t chill the atmosphere as local business owners came together to reflect on the events of the last year and look foward to the year ahead. There was plenty to celebrate this year, as Brooke pointed out.
“Eulenspiegel is celebrating 50 years,” Brooke said, “And Rotary is celebrating 100 years in West Liberty as well, so there’s definitely some awesome things happening.”
A review of the Chamber’s activities in 2023 was delivered by Kara Kruse, Former Chamber President.
Usually, the review would be delivered by the most recent past president, but Cassie Rottink was unable to make it, like many other potential attendees.
However, Kruse was happy to be there on Rottink’s behalf, and her speech reminded everyone of the fun they all had when the weather was warm.
“This is technically Cassie’s speech,” Kruse said with Cassie’s notes in her hands as she shared the thoughts of the past president.
To begin, West Liberty celebrated three new businesses in 2024: The Energy Hut, La Chiva Loka 2 and West Nutrition. It also held a ribbon cutting for the brand new Eearlt Learning Center.
In addition to the new businesses, a few existing businesses celebrated anniversaries this year.
“In October, we celebrated with West Elle Salon and Boutique for their fourth anniversary,” Kruse said. “In November we had another business milestone with Shop 121 celebrating their fifth anniversary.”
“The Comet Gala was a brand-new event,” Kruse said of the gala that resulted from the Chamber and the School District joining forces.
“Through this event we raised $55,000 for the new athletic complex,” she said. “We couldn’t have done it without this wonderful community. Thank you to everyone who sponsored, donated and came to this event.”
In 2023, the Chamber of Commerce successfully held all of its normal community activities, like the Fair Parade and Picnic in the Park, as well as the annual golf event.
The Holiday Open House was especially wonderful this year, with the addition of Who-Ville in Ron-de-Voo Park.
The Chamber helped during RAGBRAI, during which more than 40,000 cyclists passed through the community.
It was a massive undertaking that involved nearly every business, club, and service organization in the West Liberty area.
As always, the Annual Meeting wouldn’t be complete without the awards.
Donna Alberti, Chamber Board President, presented awards alongside Chief operating Officer Charles Brooke and former President Kara Kruse.
The Business Betterment Award went to the West Liberty Community School District.
Conveniently, Kara Kruse, who is not only the Chamber’s past president of 2022 but also the district’s Data and Communication Admin Assistant, was able to represent the district and receive the award.
The winner of the ‘Educator of the Year Award’ was Kayla Morrison, the ELC and Elementary School Nurse. Morrison was moved to receive the honor.
“I am really humbled and grateful to be recognized. I don’t consider myself a traditional educator and we have an amazing district full of amazing teachers who day in and day out teach our students,” she said.
“I was taken aback when Charles emailed me to let me know I was even nominated! I love being the school nurse and being part of the school system,” Morrison said.
The final award of the evening was for the ‘Spirit of West Liberty’ award, an honor that was bestowed upon Lisa Browning.
Browning, owner of Shop 121, was on vacation. However, her impact on the community was discussed by the Chamber, even in her absence.
“She is in sunny Mexico,” Brooke said with more than a hint of envy.
The dinner was provided by Jeff’s Market while the social hour was hosted by the Chamber. Wine and water were provided by Giri BP and poured by the Lugo family.
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Company provided a display of their past and future works, including awards, puppets, and a map of the places they’ve been and friends they’ve brought into West Liberty from all over the world.
Director Brooke was glad he didn’t delay the event, even if attendance wasn’t as big as in past years.
“I was pleased with the turnout,” Brooke said. “With the amount of weather delays we’ve had and really low temperatures…most people said they were glad to get out.”
The Chamber of Commerce has a lot of big plans for 2024, with special focus on their four main events: Fair Parade, Picnic in the Park, Golf Tournament and Holiday Open House.
West Liberty can look forward to an amazing 2024!