Ephrata chamber to hold banquet

Chiev takes over for Witte as president

EPHRATA - The Ephrata Chamber of Commerce holds its annual banquet this coming Saturday.

The banquet begins with a no-host social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m., at the American Legion, located at 276 Eighth Ave. N.W. in Ephrata.

"The announcements will be made for the citizen and business of the year, and also serves as the installation for the new officer and recognizing of the outgoing board members," chamber Executive Director Suzanne Dahl said. "It's kind of a welcoming ceremony and it's also for the chamber members."

Susan Chiev assumes the presidency of the chamber from Rita Witte.

A few nominations came in for citizen and business of the year, Dahl said, although she would have liked more. The last day for nominations was Sept. 14.

Kathy Hogan, secretary-treasurer for the Association of Visitor Information Centers of Washington, speaks during the banquet on tourism and its impact on businesses geared toward tourism, and those which are not.

"Once you bring people into town, it affects everybody there in a positive manner and then also dealing on how each business deals with tourism affects citywide, if people are going to come back or not," Dahl previewed.

This is the chamber's 83rd banquet.

Dahl said there are not really any changes this year to the banquet or the chamber.

"We did a lot of changes last year and everything's been running really smoothly," she said. "The changes were for the better, basically."

Changes included the chamber office's move to a new location and increased membership, Dahl said.

Tickets are $20 per person. Tables seat eight. Dinner is served buffet style, with ribs and chicken on the menu. There is a no-host bar open throughout the evening.

RSVP with the chamber office at 509-754-4656 or buy at the door, although Dahl said she prefers RSVPs for head count purposes.