The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce held its 40th annual banquet last Saturday night with 350 members present. Outgoing President Mark Gray said that the first banquets were held as pot luck dinners in the Fayetteville Masonic Lodge. A crowd of 40 people then was considered a success.

Ten years later the banquets were still pot luck, but held at an elementary school. The attending wives were not too pleased, though, to have to clean up in their finery.

Of the 40 past presidents, eight were deceased and an additional two could not be located.

Each of those remaining were asked to contribute a paragraph or two which was used for the evening’s printed program. This program also contained the early history of the Chamber as well as information on the county for 1967 and for 2007. It noted, for instance, that the number of business in 1967 were 25, and in 2007 there were 6,500 businesses.

The population in the four decades went from 10,000 to 104,000. Gray gave a speech showing what was happening in the world and in Fayette County during each of the four decades.

Among the events mentioned for the county were the founding of the Chamber in 1967, Gov. Jimmy Carter attending the county’s sesquicentennial in 1971, the Chamber moving into its first very own building in 1979, the old Courthouse being firebombed in 1982, its “Fayette 93” strategic plan being formatted in 1986, the Olympic Torch coming through the county in July 1996, the opening of the first hospital in the county in 1997, and also that year, the Chamber moving into the old Courthouse, and the Tour de Georgia and Lance Armstrong biking through here in 2005.

The presidents gavel was turned over to attorney Dennis Davenport who stated just what the Chamber is and what it does.

“The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce is an association of businesses and organizations,” he said, “that work together to promote economic prosperity. We want to enhance the excellent quality of life through strong leadership, networking, education, and a variety of programs that encourage partnerships between businesses and its community.”

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