OUTGOING JACKSON CHAMBER PRESIDENT REFLECTS ON PAST YEAR

JACKSON - Outgoing Jackson Chamber of Commerce president Jim Maevers reflected on the events and activities of the chamber the past year as he prepared to hand over the gavel to the 1994-95 chamber president, Steve Elefson.

Elefson and other chamber officers -- Larry Hall, vice president, and Jeff Moore, secretary, -- were installed during Monday's annual chamber installation banquet.

Serving on the chamber's board of directors for 1994-95 are Steve Popp, John N. Thompson, Darrell Aufdenberg, Paul Sander, Brent Wills, John M. Thompson, Vanita Jones and James Maevers.

Maevers said retention of the Jackson license fee office was probably the most important event for the chamber last year. Maevers said that also enabled the chamber's executive director, Patti Reisenbichler, to continue as a consultant to the license bureau.

Maevers said the chamber and the Jackson Industrial Development Authority will continue to work this year to build a speculation building on the authority's industrial tract. "If we had a `spec' building on our tract, we could have had a couple of interested businesses in town," said Maevers.

Maevers said the authority has donated a tract of land to the city of Jackson for construction of an elevated water tower. The tower is part of a water-main distribution improvement project that will connect the South Farmington industrial tract with the Lee Avenue industrial area and provide increased water supplies to both areas.

Maevers said the Jackson Tourism Committee "got a real boost last year" from a matching $5,000 grant from the city and chamber funds that enabled the committee to set up an operating budget. He said the committee has placed tourism information stands throughout Jackson.

"Last year's chamber of commerce golf tournament was a success in both public relations for the chamber and as a fund-raiser," said Maevers. "Summing it all up, I would say the important thing to keep in mind is that we didn't give up when it looked bad. We continued to grow and are looking to the future growth of Jackson."

New officers for the Jackson Industrial Development Co. are: John M. Thompson, Kent Puchbauer and Tim Sievers, who also serves on the board of directors. The directors for 1994-95 are Gene Penzel, Steve Elefson, Don Sievers and Carl Talley.

The 1994-95 members of the Jackson Industrial Development Authority Board of Directors are David Beasley, Vernon Werner, Maevers, Steve Popp, Mysie Keene, Larry Nowak, and Chad Hartle.