Few Tickets Remain for Chamber’s Annual Dinner

Time is running out to secure what is typically a hot ticket in Paulding County.

The Paulding Chamber of Commerce’s annual seated dinner, which will commemorate the organization’s 52nd year of existence, will be held at the Paulding County Senior Community Center Thursday, Jan. 17. The event will begin with a VIP reception at 6 p.m. and dinner seating at 7 p.m.

Few tickets remained as of earlier this week and are being sold individually at $125 each.

Rhubarb Jones will give the event’s keynote address. Formerly the longest-running morning radio personality in Atlanta, according to his website, Jones now serves as a part-time instructor of communication at Kennesaw State University as well as the college’s director of special events in the Office of University Advancement & Development.

With Jones serving as the keynote, this will be the second year in a row the Chamber’s dinner has featured someone with ties to the radio industry. Neal Boortz—the syndicated radio host who can be heard locally and across the metro Atlanta area on WSB Radio—was the keynote speaker at last year’s event. (See video highlights from Boortz’s address here.) Boortz is retiring later this month and handing the reins of his program to former presidential candidate Herman Cain.

In addition to Jones’ keynote, other highlights of the event will be the recognition of the Chamber’s Ambassador of the Year, Business of the Year and Citizen of the Year. Last year’s winners were Sara Magnusson, Little Caesars franchisees Gerry and Lynn Barr and Brian Stover, respectively. (Click the links to view our videos from the award presentations.)

Chamber officials also will recognize two individuals for their roles in assisting a Paulding teen who was allegedly abused by his parents last year. Retired Sgt. Joseph Gonzales of the Los Angeles Police Department was working security at a Los Angeles bus station when he saw Mitch Comer, an 18-year-old described by authorities as “a pale, gaunt young man of small stature who appeared to be about 12 or 13 years of age”—he weighed only 87 pounds and stood just over 5 feet tall. Comer told police that his stepfather had given him $200 and a list of homeless shelters, then put him on a bus in Jackson, Miss., though that had come after years of abuse at home, including confinement to his room and meals consisting of small quantities of food.

Also set to be honored for her efforts on the case will be Monica Moore-Penate, a criminal investigator with the Paulding County District Attorney’s Office.

For more information on the event or to purchase tickets, contact Kevin Kirby at 770-445-6016 or kkirby@pauldingchamber.org.

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