It was the 90th anniversary of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, and it pulled out all the stops to celebrate the occasion at the Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center on Friday night.
A large cake topped with “90” dominated the center of the banquet hall as local business leaders, politicians, and other community leaders joined together to celebrate the achievements in 2014. New leaders were welcomed to the chamber board, and old members were thanked for their service.
Two of the highlights of the evening were the Lud Fiser citizen of the year award, and the first ever Dr. C. Clyde Jones volunteer of the year award.
Dan Yunk received the Lud Fiser award for his service to the community, and a beaming Mark Knackendoffel took home the first ever Dr. C. Clyde Jones award. Knackendoffel received the award from its namesake on stage, and afterwords stood side by side with Dr. Jones as he expressed his gratitude for the award.
In a surprise upset Johnny Kaw took home the Johnny Kaw award.