The annual banquet, formally known as the ‘Chamber Banquet’ will be hosted for the 91st time honoring the Business and Citizen of the year. In addition, the Pampa Chamber of Commerce honors a ‘Student of the Year’ that the Pampa ISD picks.
“We have a committee that selects our two winners from the list of nominees we receive,” Director, Cortnie Patterson said. “We also honor the student of the year in the same night as picked by the school district.”
The change in names of the event came from the new board and director, the ‘Yellow Rose’ to signify friendship and fostering those that we have within in our community and continue to grow. This will be the second year that the event has gone under it’s new name. The awards are meant to be as a generational award, honoring businesses that have been in Pampa for many years, or for citizens that have been a part of the Pampa community for many years and have undergone philanthropic efforts or charitable efforts that encompass the meaning of being citizen of the year.
“We don’t see the awards as a popularity contest,” Patterson said. “We intend for them to be given to those that have done and continue to do good things to prosper our community for many years.”
Returning for the evening for the second year in a row is the ‘Alma Quartet’ as the musical guest of the night. The decision to bring them back was based on the receptiveness at last years Yellow Rose Gala. The event is a limited ticket event, and the nominations are opened until February 15th for business and citizen of the year.
“We at the chamber are encouraging people to continue to nominate people,” Patterson said. “We have the link on our website and Facebook and ask the community to continue nominating until the link is closed.”
In addition to the three mentioned, the chamber has also introduced a fourth award. The ‘Golden Hammer Award’ honors the business that has done work to the exterior of their building throughout the year.
“We have such a beautiful city,” Patterson said. “So this award is to honor those that continue to bring this great city back to the way it was. We have a lot of buildings that have been here for many years and still have potential to represent the beauty of Pampa.”
The link is open to nominate for the three awards the chamber gives out and can be found online at pampachamber.com or on their Facebook.
The Yellow Rose Gala will take place the evening of March 25th, starting at 7 pm. To purchase tickets, contact the chamber at (806) 669-3241 or visit their office at 200 N Ballard St.
