The Muleshoe Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture held their annual banquet Saturday night, April 15, at the Desert Rose event center. The celebration of Muleshoe as Our Town was well attended and went something like this:
Guests were given their table assignments as they entered and had the chance for a commemorative photo to be taken by Shelby Brewster at a festive photo backdrop. Drinks and snacks were available as guests mingled and visited, always a happy chance for people to touch base with others they had not seen recently.
Chamber manager Brittany Pendley began the evening’s meal by announcing table numbers to be served in orderly fashion to avoid long waits in line at the buffet. Plates were filled by Jett and Luli Murillo from Jettfire BBQ with grilled pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a hot roll. Guests then served themselves a salad at the salad bar and could choose from a variety of sweets for dessert at their table.
As dinner was served, Brittany asked Scott Miller to give the invocation. She then recognized individuals and businesses that made the event possible and introduced the chamber board members, some of whom are new to the board: John Villalba, Jackson Myers, Londi Blackwell, Kamry Cribbs, Natalie Leal, James Rincones, and Myles James. Brittany highlighted some of the changes made in the Chamber of Commerce this year, including the office now being located in the Muleshoe Heritage Center office, launching a new website, and planning new events along with bringing back some from the past.
Chamber board president John Villalba was up next to talk about Muleshoe being Our Town, the theme of the banquet, and the importance of home towns.
Brittany then introduced Dan Borwick of ROCrageous Leadership to announce the winners for this year’s annual awards. Terry Steinbock, who was unable to attend the event, was named Man of the Year, Cindy Bessire was recognized as Woman of the Year, and Youth of the Year was Tate Shipman. The Business of the Year went to Tireworks represented by Billy May, and the Employee of the Year was Vickie Gonzales from Leal’s Restaurant. The Ag Farm Family of the Year was Joel and Madeline Hettinga.
After the awards were all revealed, Dan gave a short inspirational message about dealing with hard things, something we all have to do from time to time.
Brittany then talked about the new program the chamber started last year, the Ride for the Brand, the auctioning off of a Muleshoe branding iron to raise money for scholarships for Muleshoe High School seniors. The branding iron would be auctioned off each year, and the person with the winning bid would keep the iron for the next year and then bring it back to be auctioned off again at the next banquet. Colt Ellis was the first to win the bidding last year and kept the branding iron in safe-keeping till this year’s banquet. Thanks to his bid last year, four MHS seniors were awarded a $500 scholarship for their future educational endeavors: Kilonna Burdell, Michaela Haseloff, Zabry Haseloff, and Jazyn Aguirre.
Thurman Myers, with the help of Jackson Myers, then auctioned off the branding iron for this year. The winning bid of $2,100 went to Billy May on behalf of Tireworks. The branding iron will remain in their possession until the banquet next year when it will be up for auction again.
The program ended with Brittany telling everyone to look under their placemats, and the person finding a golden mule shoe could take home the flower centerpiece on their table. As tickets were taken up upon entry, we were told to put our name on the back and drop it into a glass vase. Jackson Myers brought that vase to the front, and Brittany drew out a ticket, the prize being a night’s lodging at Cotton Court Hotel in Lubbock. The lucky winner was Angela Chavez.
Brittany thanked everyone for coming and we were dismissed to continue visiting and dance to the music of Jordan Robert Kirk.
If you missed the banquet this year, plan on attending next year. Not only was it an opportunity to recognize some of Muleshoe’s finest, it was a fun party with a good meal, good music, and good friends.
For more news and updates on events and activities, visit the Chamber of Commerce website at www.muleshoetxchamber.com
Thanks to Brittany Pendley for her help with this story.
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