Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce annual dinner set for Thursday

The 116th annual dinner of the Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce is set for 5 p.m. Thursday at DMACC. The tentative agenda for the night is a social hour from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by a dinner and presentations of the initiatives and plans for the coming year.

“Over the years, the dinner has evolved into a time to celebrate all things good that are going on in Newton, especially in terms of business, economic development and tourism,” Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Darrell Sarmento said. “When you come to the annual dinner, you get the big picture on the good things that are going on in Newton.”

The dinner also will have brief updates from many groups on how they play a part in the big picture of what’s going on in Newton.

“Our city staff, leadership and the mayor play an important part because all of us are partners in the future of Newton with the city, Chamber, Newton Development Corporation, Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Newton Housing and Development Corporation. All these organization are represented that night,” Sarmento said. “They give us brief updates on what they have been up to and what they have planned for the new year.”

A key component the night will be an update on the reports and plans for the City of Newton.

“Main Street, city’s Comprehensive Plan, the Buxton Report, housing initiative, Skilled Iowa and the city rebranding,” Sarmento said. “We may have a sneak peek of the promotional video for the new branding.”

Jay Beyers from the Greater Des Moines Partnership and U.S. Congressman Dave Loebsack will be in attendance at the dinner and will give a short message to the crowd.

“We will be hearing a short greeting from Jay Beyers of GDMP since we had an update from the partnership during the January Chamber Breakfast,” Sarmento said.

Loebsack will speak briefly on what he is doing on the federal level with regard to development on the city and county levels.

“I will be speaking on the importance of education development within community college programs, helping to create opportunities for citizens to develop the skills needed to fill positions needed in today’s workforce,” Loebsack said.

The Excellence in Education Awards will be handed out at the dinner. The dinner also will highlight the winners of Community Service Award and the Key Award.

“We will have our awards as well as introduce our new Board of Directors for the Chamber this year,” Sarmento said. “The Community Service Award goes to an individual who has shown great leadership over the years, and the Key Award goes to an individual or group who has put on a great event for the community.”

Okoboji Bar and Grill will be catering the dinner for the hamber.

“They have put together a nice menu together we always use local restaurants to cater the event,” Sarmento said.

A big part of the night will be Main Street as what will be the next steps depending on if Newton is selected or not to become apart of the program.

“I received an email from the Main Street Iowa Executive Board stating the selections will be revealed this week,” Sarmento said. “Whether we get selected or not doesn’t mean we can’t start addressing issues in downtown.”