ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce ushered in a new era for 2017, unveiling a new logo and a new slogan, “Live Life Local” at its 41st Annual Banquet held Thursday night, Jan. 19 at the Baldwin County Coliseum in Robertsdale.
“There’s no place I’d rather be than Central Baldwin County,” said incoming Board President Jonathan Kitchens. “‘Live Life Local’ is not just something that we say, it’s about all of us doing our part to make this community a better place to live, work and raise the next generation.”
More than 400 tickets were sold for this year’s annual banquet, which celebrates the year’s successes and announces the focus of the coming year.
Kitchens, who runs Furniture City/Cloud 9 in Robertsdale with his father Joe and family, is a third generation board president, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather Raymond Fell, who was one of the founding members of the chamber.
Longtime Silverhill resident Barbara Sharp, was honored as the 2016 Woman of the Year, while Dr. Jason Northcutt, owner of Robertsdale Dental, garnered Man of the Year honors during the Thursday evening awards ceremony. Sandy Folan, executive director of Habitat for Humanity, was also honored as this year’s Volunteer of the Year.

Presenting sponsor for this year’s event is Baldwin EMC. Additional sponsors were:Diamond Sponsors: Central Baldwin Immediate Care & Family Practice and Piggly Wiggly Cost Plus; Gold Sponsors: Riviera Utilities, Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Robertsdale Dental Care, Budweiser-Busch Distributing Co., Power Productions and Baldwin County Sewer Service. Silver Sponsors: Johnson, Slaughter, Driver & Northcutt, P.A., Hamm LTD, Express Employment Professionals, Gulf Coast Media and the Baldwin County Cattle & Fair Association. Bronze Sponsors: Franklin Primary Health Center, Mack Funeral Home, Gruenloh & Associates, Pen Air Federal Credit Union and United Bank.
The event kicked off with social hour featuring a silent auction, music, hors d’oeuvres and adult beverages, along with a 50/50 drawing.
Dinner was catered again this year by Goo Roo’s of Robertsdale. Brad Giles of Giles Audio Visual Integrations (GAVI) will provide entertainment for the event.
Each of the four municipalities also presented “Business of the Year” awards during Thursday night’s event. Award winners included:
Silverhill: The Pink Anchor, owners Dustin and Ashton Cooke.
Robertsdale: Greer’s Cash Saver Cost Plus, presented to manager Donna Harper and Greer’s family representative Lucy Greer.
Loxley: El Paisita Mexican Restaurant.
Summerdale: Coastal Auto.
Outgoing board members, incoming and current board members were also recognized during the program.
The evening culminated in the passing of the gavel from 2016 board president Tim Hobbs to 2017 president Jonathan Kitchens.
The Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce celebrated a milestone in 2016, surpassing the 300-member mark. In addition to launching the new slogan and logo, the chamber also unveiled its new website at centralbaldwin.com. You can also visit the chamber office at 23150 Alabama 59 at the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 in Robertsdale or call Executive Director Gail Quezada or Director of Operations Rustee Karolyi at 251-947-2626.