Annual Installation dinner-June, 2002 Michael Collins
Not too long ago the City of Twentynine Palms was little more than a watering hole along a desert road, and the valley that we live in today was known of only by gold miners and native traders. Then things changed when a few adventurous homesteaders came through the area and found they were attracted to its clean, dry air and warm weather. They picked out parcels and built cabins, and shortly thereafter, began working together to develop various and sundry community services. In short time, the small town called Twentynine Palms was born.
As I speak to you tonight, the miners and traders are long gone but the watering hole they left behind endures. It endures because the homesteaders that remained were committed to their fledgling community and set a tradition of working together toward making their town strong and vibrant. Thanks to that tradition--a tradition that we carry forward tonight--our city is not an abandoned mining camp, but a thriving, diverse community blessed with a rich history and a promising future.
The Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce is both an inextricable part of that history and an important contributor to the future. In the year 1936, the Chamber’s first Board of Directors was installed. Then - as today, the Board was comprised of citizens devoted to the advocacy of business and the overall welfare of the community. Then - as today, they knew that Twentynine Palms would not grow on its own, nor that problems would solve themselves. And then - as today, they understood that to carry on a tradition means not only to inherit the progress of those who came before but to guide and improve the community for those who will come later. Sixty-six years have gone by since that first installation, and fifty-six men and women have presided over the Chamber’s direction. Thanks in part to the vision and collective efforts of each president, Twentynine Palms was able to grow from a watering hole along a desert road into a community in which thousands do business.
As a measure of our gratitude, the Chamber has invited its surviving past presidents as VIP guests to this evening’s event. We value these men and women not only for their contribution of time and dedication to the community but for their unique ability to use their past experience to advise and inform the choices we make today. I am pleased to ask those in attendance to [come forward/stand/accept name badge] so that we may recognize them for their service. [name badge presented?]
Thank you all for coming. Here’s to sixty-six more years, and beyond.
Michael Collins
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