Tuesday, Feb. 12 2013 4:12PM

COMMENTARY

Character breakfast and Chamber dinner both a success

By Lynn Olive

Guest columnist

In order to go to the Mayor’s Character Breakfast I had to get up at 4:45 a.m. on my day off. Not really a morning person but decided to go for it. It was so worth it. I think it is one of the best events of the year. The Pavilion at John Knox Village was at full capacity. The morning opened with Mayor Randy Rhoads welcoming everyone.

So many of Lee’s Summit’s residents are high performance individuals but there are always those whom go above and beyond. That is what the Character Breakfast does is focus to recognize those individuals.

The Ethics in Business went to Daren Fristoe of The Fristoe Group, Inc. The individuals that were recognized for character were: Holly Knipp, Sergeant Mike Murray, Sergeant Rod Schaeffer, Kylie and Andy Ewing, Dawn Myers, Ron Cox, Jordan Hoffman, Shery Batliner, Kelly Christensen, Heath King, Samantha Drehle, Greg Narron, and Ed Lipowicz. Bob and Marlese Gourley were awarded a Lifetime Achievement award for all their generosity. Each of these recipients was nominated for different reasons but all were nominated because of putting others first and stepping over the line for the good of others.

The night of Jan. 26 once again the Pavilion was at full capacity with the Lee’s Summit Chamber’s Annual Gala. The theme this year was travel and there was a Mariachi Band playing as everyone entered dressed in their sparkle and some in black tie. The silent auction is always fun and there are so many great items for bid and being on the committee it is fun to watch several who were somewhat silently trying to outbid each other. One in particular was really back and forth. Felt bad for the one who was so popular he missed out on last minute because of people stopping him. Oh well, that’s the fun of it.

The food was incredible and the entertainment of Drumming Dancers was pretty impressive. The live auction is always the big thing and there is a cute puppy that Bud Hertzog donates that is always a huge hit and ends up in a great bidding war. I think the big hit this year was the Chamber staff donating their services to cook an entire dinner for you to host a dinner party. It was a great night and everyone was in a festive mood ready to have some fun and they did.

Now the Pavilion will again be packed in March when the Forever Kings show sponsored by Lee’s Summit Cares will be bringing down the house. Matt Lewis as Elvis and Eddie Moss as Michael Jackson will rock the walls on Mar. 15 and 16. Tickets available with me and various outlets and both HyVee stores. It will be the place to be that weekend so get your tickets.