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Chamber Insights gives community updates in business and organizations Chamber Insights is a monthly review from the Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerceby: Sue Stivers, Stacey Bailey, Linda Waggener, Vonnie Kolbenschlag, and Ashlea Houchens. Business and organizational highlights you can read in detail about when you click 'read more' include: President's Message from Richard Phelps: March 15 meeting will feature LEAD Adair County and everyone is encouraged to attend. Ashlea Houchens, a senior at Lindsey Wilson College, is volunteering at the Chamber for the spring semester. Lloyd French is the first of several artisans in the area who will be featured by the Chamber in our new artisan-of-the-month series. Board member of the Month: Charles Grimsleyalways at work as a community volunteer to help make this a better place. Business of the Month: Circle R Restaurant which has kept people coming back for almost 50 years. GRAWL -- Green River Animal Welfare League needs more community involvement and members to add to the grant for a new building which has been applied for. Tourism news: The Fort Knox Patton Museum recently opened a new gate directly off of the Museums property to make the entry more simple and less time consuming. Presidents Message Since the last article entitled the Presidents Message was written there have been many things that have happened and are happening with your Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce. I will briefly update readers as to some things that the Chamber is working on, providing leadership for, or offering our support for in the community. If you read last months Chamber of Commerce article you've seen an overview of our 2004 activities. A thanks very much goes to Sue Stivers and our newsletter committee for a very fine article. Our 2005 Chamber of Commerce year has started off really well with our dues collection process. As of this writing we already have 126 members and more expected to join in the near future. Our attendance at our January and February monthly meetings have been strong with around 50 each month. Thank you all for your effort to come and I hope that you are enjoying our meetings. The February meeting with Lindsey Wilson College President, Bill Luckey, was an excellent meeting. We thank, Bill, for the great job he is doing with the college and the vital part that it is to our community. Our March 15, 2005 meeting will be an update on a yearlong effort by several local people being involved in a program called LEAD Adair County. This opportunity for our county began last year when, Jane Higgins of the Brushy Fork Institute of Berea College spoke at our chamber meeting. Please try and attend to learn more about the hard work this group has done. Our 2005 Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet is set for April 14, 2005 at Lindsey Wilson College. We will soon begin nominations for outstanding individuals in business, agriculture, and other areas. Please mark your calendar for this date and plan to attend. Thanks so much, to so many, who make these things happen. -Richard Phelps, President ~ ~ ~ Welcome New Members: The Chamber is happy to welcome Danny and Melissa Fudge of Breeding as new members. Another new member is the Magnolia House. Both individuals and businesses are welcome to join. Call 270-384-6020 for details. ~ ~ ~ Local College Student Volunteers at Chamber Who is Ashlea Houchens and why is she on the Newsletter Committee? Ashlea is a senior at Lindsey Wilson College who is volunteering at the Chamber for the spring semester. A communication major from Glasgow, Kentucky, Ashlea hopes to better enhance the skills she has attained not only from the classroom but also from completing an internship with the Sports Information Department at LWC. While volunteering here at the Chamber, Ashlea will be assisting, updating the website, and assisting in the office. By working with the Chamber, Ashlea hopes to gain the experience of working for the community of Adair County while also preparing her life after Lindsey. On campus, Ashlea is active as a Resident Assistant in the freshman dormitory, President of the student alcohol coalition, an office assistant in the Residence Life Department, and a volunteer for many campus events. In her free time, Ashlea enjoys spending time with family and friends and watching Blue Raider and Kentucky basketball. ~ ~ ~ Artisan of the Month: Lloyd French, Brilliance at 74 Lloyd French may look and act like any citizen of the Columbia-Adair County community when in fact he has an extraordinary talent to which may be blinded. French is the first of several artisans in the area who will be featured by the Chamber in our new artisan of the month series. Lloyd French hasnt always known his way around an art studio. In fact, he had never even tried his hand in the arts until only a short time ago, now the Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce is recognizing him as the first artisan of the month. French worked 25 years at a bank and also a recycling company in California before retiring to the Columbia-Adair County community in 1991. After moving to the area, French was constantly building, rebuilding, and fixing items around the house, which slowly began to frustrate his wife and daughter. They encouraged him, without any luck, to take up a hobby, so they took matters into their own hands. For Frenchs 74th birthday, they gave him watercolors. With this encouragement, Lloyd French began taking art lessons from Henrietta Scott. Through hard work and dedication, French is now capturing the beauty of the outdoors in beautiful, detailed paintings. Lloyd French is known for his unique glass paperweights, which reflect a miniature painting inside. These paperweights are his favorite piece to work on, and they are also rare as few if any artisans do this type of artwork. French says the glass gives his paintings dimension. Although Lloyd French was chosen for his artistic abilities, his contributions to the Columbia-Adair County community are numerous. French is an active participant of the Food Pantry, organizer of the local Man-to-Man program, and an active participant in the Adair County Relay for Life as he is a cancer survivor. Past leadership roles French has held include chairperson of the local Drug Prevention Coalition, and Board Member of the Chamber. Lloyd French is a walking example and inspiration of how its never too late to learn a new hobby. To learn more about his story and view his works please visit the Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, February 24th and February 25th as Lloyd French will be available from 9:00am-noon & 1:00-4:30pm. His artwork can also be viewed during regular office hours Monday-Friday 8:00am-noon & 12:30-4:30pm from February 24th to March 31st. ~ ~ ~ Board member of the Month is Charles Grimsleywho can be found in Columbia where work is underway to make the town a better place. In addition to serving on the Chamber, he runs the family business and serves on the City Council. Charles D. Grimsley is the Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce Board Member of the Month. In addition to serving on the board, he is the Special Events and Activities Chairman. He has been chairman of Christmas in Columbia for 4 years and the founder/ chairman of the Folklore of the Old West Festival since it began. Charles is President of Grimsley Jewelry Retail, Repair and Cellular on the square in Columbia. The jewelry business is 52 years old and he took it over as his father reached retirement. He is a graduate of Adair County High School and ofWestern Kentucky University. He is a member of the Columbia Baptist Church, Renaissance Columbia and a member of the Columbia-Adair County Jaycees for 27 years. He has served on the City Council for 7 years and has been actively involved with the Adair County Fair since 1985. The women in Charles' life include his mother Myrtle Grimsley, and sisters Charlotte Curry and Mary Ann Zrake.Charles can be reached at charlesgrimsley@hotmail.com. ~ ~ ~ Business of the Month: Circle R Restaurant Down home cooking, welcoming atmosphere, friendly staff. These are just a few of the reasons that the Circle R Restaurant has kept people coming back for almost 50 years. It is a favorite of not only the local community, but also of visitors and tourists from across the state and other areas of the country. The Circle R was established in 1955 by J.D. Harper. It was originally a drive-in restaurant. The drive-in area still exists and you can still get curbside service if you park in the right spot. Mr. Harper sold the restaurant around 1994 to Jerry and Charles Marshall. The Marshalls operated the Circle R until 1997 when they sold it to Gary Mann. In July of 2002, Jeff Willis purchased the Circle R Restaurant and still owns it today. After buying the business Jeff worked on updating the restaurant with new equipment, new carpet, and new ceiling tiles. Jeff also listened to what his customers had to say about changing the inside dcor. Everyone I talked to said the wood paneling needed to stay, Jeff said. So of course, the wood panel stayed and the layout of the restaurant remained the same. Jeff has also worked on updating the Circle R menu. Initially no changes were made to the existing menu, but Jeff wanted to work on increasing the quality of the food that was offered. A few upgrades have been made to the menu now and it is still undergoing some revamping. Jeff says, Our goal is to continue to provide high quality items while fine tuning the menu to accommodate different tastes. We are working on breaking new ground for the restaurant by offering food choices with wider appeal. We also continue to work on improving the look of the facility. The restaurant business is one of the toughest and most challenging businesses to operate successfully. A large percentage of restaurants that are started dont make it past the first 2 years of being open. When asked How is it that the Circle R has been able to stay in operation for 50 years? Jeff Willis says, I think its the down home country cooking. Its the country ham and red eye gravy that you cant get at most other places. It also has to do with the warm cozy feel of the restaurant. People feel comfortable coming in and eating here. Manager Sandy Adams reports that over the past couple of months two different couples have come in to eat and told her that they had either met at the restaurant or had their first date there almost 30 years before. The customers arent the only people who stick around the Circle R. The restaurant has three employees, Deegary, Vonda, and Peggy, who have been there 30 plus years and three others who have been there over 15 years. The Circle R employs 31 people in all and has three work shifts. Sandy Adams has been the manager for the past three years. She says, I think people like the Circle R because it is a family oriented restaurant and they can always feel at home here. You could come in some time and find Deegary singing Happy Birthday to a customer. We are very kid friendly and accessible. On average the Circle R serves around 500 meals per day, 3500 meals per week. They offer a breakfast buffet on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and a dinner buffet every Monday night. They are also working on doing promotions for special events. This past Valentines Day, the restaurant had a dinner special and served over 300 guests. There is no denying that the Circle R is a unique place. If you dont believe it, stop in some time and see for yourself. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week. The Chamber of Commerce is very pleased to recognize the Circle R Restaurant as the Business of the Month. ~ ~ ~ Tourism news: Fort Knox and Patton Museum Opens New Gates The Fort Knox Patton Museum recently opened a new gate directly off of the Museums property. The new entrance located directly off 31W (Dixie Highway) means that visitors to the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor will no longer have to provide current photo identification or be subject to random vehicle inspections to visit the museum. The gate leads into the museums parking lot and allows no further access to the military installation. Visitors to the Patton Museum will find the gate to their new entrance opened Monday through Friday from 9am to 4:30pm. The gate will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4:30pm (all times listed above are eastern time) Visitors wishing to visit other areas on Fort Knox will have to reenter the post via the Bullion Blvd. entrance. This entrance has also recently received a facelift with the installation of a new gate near the world famous Bullion Depository. The Chaffee Avenue gate was dedicated in early December and is now considered the main entrance to Fort Knox. The new Chaffee Avenue gate is open and staffed 24 hours a day. Visitors entering the post through this gate will have to provide current identification and will be subject to random vehicle inspections. These two entrances to Fort Knox will provide visitors and personnel easier access to the post as well as keeping the security of the base intact. (Source: Tourism Times, Radcliff/ Fort Knox Tourism Commission) ~ ~ ~ Here's something to GRAWL about Our Chamber of Commerce provides a way for a community to be joined together in ways that benefit and work toward an improved living environment. Thats not only for people but for our animal companions as well. For some time now, a group has been meeting monthly to plan for an animal shelter. The group, GRAWL Green River Animal Welfare League meets the first Tuesday of each month in the basement of the Training and Development Building also known as the Chamber Building. Membership/ attendance is open for anyone; membership blanks are printed in the newspaper and available at numerous locations in Columbia. Property for the shelter has been donated, and a grant has been sent in requesting funds for construction. But, membership dues will help raise additional needed money as well as show support for this facility. In other words, your help will make an animal shelter paws-ible. Dues are tax deductible. February 22 was SPAY DAY USA. The national non-profit Doris Day Animal Foundation began 11 years ago. In the last ten years, Spay Day USA has been responsible for spaying or neutering more than 1 million companion animals nationwide. Spaying and neutering is a serious response to a serious over population of animals many of which are not cared for. Hundreds of communities across the country are working toward making it a better place to live for all two footed and four footed inhabitants. Lets be one of those communities. This story was posted on 2005-03-01 14:59:44
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Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Chamber Insights:
Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce , Tuesday, February 15, 2005 Chamber of Commerce Overview of Year 2004 Lewis Garrison honored by Chamber of Commerce Mayor, County Judge to speak at January 18 Chamber meeting Chamber offers First Aid and CPR classes Bank of Columbia's Marsha Godsey is Chamber Treasurer and Board Member CHAMBER WHO'S WHO: Monica Rodgers Meet Darrell Overstreet, Chamber VP Who's Who in leadership: Chamber President Richard Phelps Whos Who in Chamber leadership View even more articles in topic Chamber Insights |
 
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