100 Club thanks law enforcement officers
Wharton Chamber News

Here's a great chance to say "thank you" to the Wharton County 100 Club and all of our men and women in law enforcement.

The club's 2007 annual Awards Banquet will be Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Wharton Community Civic Center. The social will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the banquet at 7 p.m.

For those of you have been never been at one of these events, the banquet is an uplifting and emotional experience. Awards are issued to the officers at each agency who have gone above and beyond what is required to serve and protect the public - us.

And "citizens of the year" are named, the folks who stand above the rest of us in doing the right thing as a private citizen to save a life, help a crime viction, stop a crime, or in general support of the work of law enforcement officers.

The 100 Club provides needed equipment to law enforcement agencies, scholarships and death benefits to the survivors of the family of an officer killed in the line of duty.

No one ever thought the latter would happen. But it did last March, when we lost Game Warden Justin Hurst.

The 100 Club stepped to the plate and did what it is supposed to in awarding benefits to the Hurst family. For such, the club and its leaders should be commended by all of us.

It's reason enough to support this worthy organization.

The banquet is open to all members. You can join at the door.

Individual memberships are $100 per year and $150 for businesses.

Question: Why write about a "police organization" in a column that is supposed to be about the Chamber of Commerce?

Answer: Not only is it worthy of the attention, in and of itself, Chambers of Commerce across the country are "in the business of helping business do business."

Crime, frankly, doesn't help the business climate. And Wharton's crime rate, frankly, is not low as you might think. Our law enforcement officers are working diligently to deter crime as well as catch those who already commit crimes. But they need our support, as much support as we can muster.

Couple of reminders:

The chamber will be having two ribbon cuttings.

The American Legion Post No. 87 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Chapter No. 4474 will have a joint ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the American Legion. The American Legion has just joined, and the VFW did so a few months ago.

St. John's Lutheran Church has been a chamber member for years, but never had a ribbon cutting. That will be fixed at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30.

It will be part of a dedication service, which starts at 3 p.m., for physical improvements to the church.