Individuals, businesses honored at Chamber gala

Published 9:51 pm Thursday, February 27, 2020

The Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce recognized volunteers, members, board members and businesses at its annual gala Thursday night, capping the ceremony off with top awards for Cullman Police Chief Kenny Culpepper and Charlotte Slatton.

The chamber honored Culpepper with the Emma Marie Eddleman Citizenship Award, noting his leadership in the community and within law enforcement, where he as served as chief for 32 years. He is the longest serving chief in the state of Alabama.

Culpepper said he was recently asked to provide an inspirational quote for students during a visit to West Point. “And I wrote, ‘surround yourself with good people and good things will happen.’ And that’s me. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by not just good people, but wonderful people,” he said. “A wonderful family, wonderful friends, a wonderful community and it’s just made my job easy.”

Berlin Mayor Patrick Bates, representing the Cullman Mayors and Commissioners Association presented Slatton with the Lucille Galin Public Service Award. Slatton recently retired as county clerk for the Cullman County Commission, a position she held for 11 years. She also served as a Chamber Ambassador and on the education committee.

In accepting the award, Slatton reflected on the woman the award is named for. “She was truly a driving force in our community. She loved the city and this county, and she exemplified what we should strive for. She was dedicated, she was professional and she did everything that she could to better the community. I have truly never been more humbled and honored to be selected by the mayors to be this year’s recipient,” she said.

The chamber awarded its first-ever Young Professional of the Year Award to Joseph Fisher. Fisher was lauded for his business sense and entrepreneurship, and for his support of chamber events.

Other award winners were Waldrop Chiropractic Clinic for Small Business of the Year and Ashley Lackey of Alabama Technology Network as Ambassador of the Year.

Interim President and CEO Peggy Smith reflected on the Chamber’s activities over the past year, noting the Cullman Area Chamber is one of the largest in the state with 950 members. She highlighted the work of the new Tourism Board in bringing tourists to Cullman County.

“This board is committed to open communications with all stakeholders as they take on new challenges for tourism,” she said.

This weekend, there is a Bassmaster event at Smith Lake that is bringing in hundreds of high school and college anglers from 25 different states. “Please look for our visitors at local restaurants, retailers and local hotels, and welcome them to our community,” she said. “It is estimated we will see a 10 to 1 return on investment for fishing tournaments such as this.”

The chamber will be pursuing other tourism projects including religious tourism and agri-tourism.

Chamber Chair Kay Shabel noted that 2019 “has been a year of challenges and changes for our Chamber. We have been blessed to have such a tremendous group of men and women in leadership that have worked to help us develop new processes and procedures to move the Chamber forward.”

The board sought counsel from the Alabama State Chamber president on board governance and have been holding work sessions on visioning plans that don’t compete with other local programs.

“I commit to continuing the plan we have put in motion, which includes meetings with our partners, sharing information and working together as we shape the future of Cullman together,” she said.