Belhaven Chamber banquet draws large crowd
Published 6:10 pm Tuesday, April 26, 2016
BELHAVEN — The Belhaven Community Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual banquet Thursday night at the John A. Wilkinson Center.
Diana Lambeth, executive director at the Chamber, said this year’s event saw one of the largest turnouts to date, drawing a crowd of more than 130 people.
“It was a great show of support,” she said.
The winners of the 2016 Belhaven Chamber awards were: Spoon River Artworks and Market as Business of the Year; Don and Marjie Stark as Citizens of the Year; and Macy Morgan as Junior Citizen of the Year.
Henry Hinton, radio host for the Greenville-based 103.7 WTIB and president of Inner Banks Media LLC, was featured as the guest speaker. Martelle’s Feed House provided dinner for the event.
During the banquet, Chamber members were also informed of an upcoming marketing campaign for Belhaven, “The Boat Stops Here.”
Lambeth said if the plan comes to fruition, it will market Belhaven’s waterfront assets and promote it as a place to dock and visit.
The Chamber is also planning to have representation at a business showcase in Raleigh in another effort to market the town, according to Lambeth.
“The Chamber is aggressively trying to promote Belhaven to areas outside of Belhaven,” she said.
Other presentations included follow-up reports on November’s Plaid Friday, the town’s Christmas celebration, the latest on “Clean Up Belhaven” and the upcoming Pirates on the Pungo Regatta celebration in 2017.
“We do our very best to not only put our community’s best foot forward, but also to ensure lasting relationships with partners in our area to continue the success of this goal,” President Dianne Bowen said at the event. “Throughout the rest of the year, you will continue to see our efforts shine.”