By Heather Lusk
The annual Chamber of Commerce banquet this year will honor the 50th anniversary of its Town Crier Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made “outstanding contributions to the town of Zionsville,” according to the chamber.
“It really is a wonderful tradition that the town and the Chamber have kept alive for many years,” said Lesley Hunt, a chamber board member.
She has been part of a project to honor each of the Town Criers over the past 50 years. One award recipient for each decade will be recognized to represent all of the winners in that decade.
“It will be a nice little tribute to everybody who has been a town crier for the last 50 years,” Hunt said.
The banquet celebrates businesses in the Zionsville community that “contribute to the betterment and economic growth of Zionsville,” according to a statement from the Chamber of Commerce.
Awards will be presented to seven other businesses and individuals including community service, business of the year, business professional of the year, emerging professional of the year and zWORKS startup of the year, an award that was introduced during the 2016 awards banquet.
Nominations are submitted by members of the chamber with the previous years’ winners selecting the next years’ recipients. The exception is the Volunteer of the Year award, which is selected by the Chamber of Commerce board.
The banquet will take place on Jan. 27 at the Palomino Ballroom at 6:30 p.m. Fox 59 reporter and Zionsville resident Sherman Burdette will host the banquet for the fourth year in a row, and Zionsville resident Dr. Chuck Dietzen will serve as keynote speaker.
Dietzen is the founder of The Timmy Foundation, which provides medical access to developing countries worldwide, and is the author of “Pint-Sized Prophets,” sharing his encounters with young patients around the globe.
Tickets are available at zionsvillechamber.org.
